Time started: 15:59
Listening to: "Red" - Elbow
Weather: Overcast and balmy
Mood: Content
It has been a good year for me overall.
I completed my first year of Bachelor of Music and made some really good friends along the way.
Of course there were struggles along the way of this year...but there are challenges to face every year, right? Getting through challenges are what makes a year a great one!
The struggles for me this year were jumping straight back into playing the piano after stopping it for four years, struggling to make friends at the beginning of the year due to my timidness and lack of confidence, and having to deal with chronic fatigue syndrome for the majority of the year. Despite all this, I have managed to improve a great deal on the piano in terms of technique and musicality. I have developed a greater appreciate for music and now I'm enjoying it whole-heartedly. I've also made some of the best friends anyone could ever have at the Con...seriously, I have met some of the nicest people ever this year! My grades have been pretty good throughout the year, there's always room for improvement but I am very happy with my academic achievements. I've also gained a lot of energy mentally. I've never been happier in my life and with this great deal of happiness and the slight gain in self-esteem I feel that I can achieve anything if I put my mind to it. I am really looking forward to making next year an even better one than this!
Well...so far I've had quite a backwards day. For breakfast I had lunch, and for lunch I had breakfast.
By this I mean for breakfast I had a salmon salad with pasta, and for lunch I had cereal xD. Don't ask me why...it just turned out this way today. Do I have any plans for the new year's eve night? Just a quiet family & friends gathering. I don't know if I will have a bit of a party with my usual high school friends or not. It depends if I get kidnapped or not...and if my mother allows it xD.
New Year's resolutions? I've got a few:
- Get at least Distinction for all my subjects (I've realised this year just how hard that actually is lol).
- Get back into shape (ie get fit again...being able to run at least 3km...I'm getting there :D)
- Be an even happier person than I already am
- Visit my high school friends in Melbourne and Shan Shan in Sydney at some point during the short holidays.
I have some other bigger, bizaar resolutions but I don't want to dream too big. I figured I'd be happier achieving little achievements before leaping into big ones that are unrealistic at this point in my life as a studying university student.
Anyway, I'm pretty happy with my life right now with significant healthy choices I've made for '08. I am confident that 2009 will be the best year yet! It will certainly have a good start as I am set off to visit my relatives in Singapore and Malaysia from mid January! I'M EXCITED!!
I hope you all have a fantastic year too! Hope you all manage to achieve your resolutions and have a happy and healthy new year!
Stay safe, everyone!
Love Min
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Why I am having negative thoughts about guys...
Time started: 00:10
Location: My bedroom (Darwin)
Listening to: "I Chose Horses" - Mogwai
Mood: Disgusted
Sorry to start this on such a negative note right after Christmas but I am in such a disgusted mood right now that I feel in order to keep my sanity I need to vent somehow...
So there's this guy I know from high school who was talking to me over msn. My display picture was just an innocent Christmas photo of my dad and I from our family dinner party. The photo focuses on our faces (naturally) and borders just below our shoulders. This guy has the nerve to say "Min, your photo needs to be a few inches lower ;)". At first I took that as a flirtatious joke so I wasn't phased...but his comments through time went a bit further. After some time of him consistently making creepy comments about me I let him know that I was feeling uncomfortable and insulted by the things he was saying about me. You would think after I said something he'd stop...but no...
He continued with more creepy suggestions and comments on the type of girl that I really am on the inside or at least should be...some tramp or skank that was nothing more than pleasurable flesh that he wouldn't mind having in his pants...
I soon blocked him, of course. I don't plan on talking to him again either. Hopefully when I return to Adelaide I won't see him around either...yeah...he's situated in Adelaide at the moment...lucky me...I've bumped into him countless times in Adelaide too. Great... -.-;;
This is not the first time a guy that I've been friends/acquainted with have said stuff like this to me.
Last year someone who I considered as one of my best friends said he never wanted to be my friend, but just wanted to get into my pants...
I have done NOTHING to provoke these guys into thinking that I would do anything like that...NOTHING!
Is this supposed to boost my self esteem?! Am I not meant to be hurt by this?!
I am so offended...I feel dirty. I've done nothing. Absolutely nothing. I am as innocent as anyone could get...and I still feel dirty.
Some guys can be such pricks...
Again I apologise for my negative vibes here...
I had a nice Christmas with my family though and I hope you all had a nice Christmas too! Have a great New Year, everyone!
Location: My bedroom (Darwin)
Listening to: "I Chose Horses" - Mogwai
Mood: Disgusted
Sorry to start this on such a negative note right after Christmas but I am in such a disgusted mood right now that I feel in order to keep my sanity I need to vent somehow...
So there's this guy I know from high school who was talking to me over msn. My display picture was just an innocent Christmas photo of my dad and I from our family dinner party. The photo focuses on our faces (naturally) and borders just below our shoulders. This guy has the nerve to say "Min, your photo needs to be a few inches lower ;)". At first I took that as a flirtatious joke so I wasn't phased...but his comments through time went a bit further. After some time of him consistently making creepy comments about me I let him know that I was feeling uncomfortable and insulted by the things he was saying about me. You would think after I said something he'd stop...but no...
He continued with more creepy suggestions and comments on the type of girl that I really am on the inside or at least should be...some tramp or skank that was nothing more than pleasurable flesh that he wouldn't mind having in his pants...
I soon blocked him, of course. I don't plan on talking to him again either. Hopefully when I return to Adelaide I won't see him around either...yeah...he's situated in Adelaide at the moment...lucky me...I've bumped into him countless times in Adelaide too. Great... -.-;;
This is not the first time a guy that I've been friends/acquainted with have said stuff like this to me.
Last year someone who I considered as one of my best friends said he never wanted to be my friend, but just wanted to get into my pants...
I have done NOTHING to provoke these guys into thinking that I would do anything like that...NOTHING!
Is this supposed to boost my self esteem?! Am I not meant to be hurt by this?!
I am so offended...I feel dirty. I've done nothing. Absolutely nothing. I am as innocent as anyone could get...and I still feel dirty.
Some guys can be such pricks...
Again I apologise for my negative vibes here...
I had a nice Christmas with my family though and I hope you all had a nice Christmas too! Have a great New Year, everyone!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Green Tree Frogs & Rain
Time started: 03:11
Listening to: "Life in a Glass House" - Radiohead
Weather: Raining
Mood: Restless
I haven't posted anything in a while and since I am now on holidays it's probably about time I should.
I will attempt to keep this short since I'm exhausted and I can't be bothered (but I know once I get started, I can't stop).
The last few weeks of uni was hectic. I was really affected by chronic fatigue syndrome but I overcame it with my stubborn willpower and self-discipline to linger on into the depths of despair during the exam-cramming season. Luckily I've made some awesome friends this year! I was so worried at the beginning of the year that I wasn't going to make any friends at uni. Sometimes I'm too shy for my own good. I think it's funny how I could come across as an extremely timid, quiet, and possibly reclusive person in the first few impressions on me...and then after a couple of encounters...BAM! I just don't shut up :'D. Meh...I have too many polar opposites in my personality, even I can't predict what I'm really like.
Anyhoo...friends! I miss them a lot while being in Darwin. I often talk about them to my Darwinian friends.
I've gotten quite close to some in the past few months and there are also some I also want to get to know better some more. I just want to thank them for being awesome, sharing good times, making me laugh, looking after me and keeping me sane this year! You all know who you are :).
My results came out a couple of weeks ago. I thought I did better but it's not too bad. I can't say that I can't be proud of my efforts for this year.
Speaking of this year...far out, it really flew. Time flies way too quickly. I can't even come to terms of me growing up!
Well I'm back in Darwin. I have been for over three weeks now. It's so good to be home. I've missed the rain and the humidity soooo much! The green tree frogs are keeping me awake. I did miss the sound of their persistent croaking but now I just want to go outside and shoot them =P.
I've been catching up with my high school friends and it's very comforting (and at times not really) to know that they haven't changed at all...they're all still as weird and psychotic as ever! I can feel my IQ drop 100 points (assuming that I have over 100 points but I don't want to get cocky since it's ME I'm talking about) every time I'm around them, haha xD. We've had birthday parties, dinner parties, and Kris Kringle parties just to name a few. After three years of graduating from high school, it's great that we still catch up and find some time to spend with each other. Strong bonds are impossible to break, huh?
I can't also fail to mention it's great to see my parents too :). I've been giving my mother a massage almost every night (because she has back and neck problems) and been going out for lunch/dinner with dad whenever I could. It's nice spoiling my parents ad being spoiled in return :P.
Well other than bumming around, catching up with people, and feeling nostalgic, I've also been practising hard for my next year's program too. I am determined to impress my piano teacher, Lucinda.
Argh! I can never make these journal entries short.
Well, I guess this is enough to brief over my past month. I'm really just posting this because the frogs are keeping me awake, I'm bored, and I feel obliged to post something up about my mundane life =P.
Until next time!
Time finished: 04:36
Listening to: "Girl In The Flames" - Pendulum
Mood: Toothpaste
Listening to: "Life in a Glass House" - Radiohead
Weather: Raining
Mood: Restless
I haven't posted anything in a while and since I am now on holidays it's probably about time I should.
I will attempt to keep this short since I'm exhausted and I can't be bothered (but I know once I get started, I can't stop).
The last few weeks of uni was hectic. I was really affected by chronic fatigue syndrome but I overcame it with my stubborn willpower and self-discipline to linger on into the depths of despair during the exam-cramming season. Luckily I've made some awesome friends this year! I was so worried at the beginning of the year that I wasn't going to make any friends at uni. Sometimes I'm too shy for my own good. I think it's funny how I could come across as an extremely timid, quiet, and possibly reclusive person in the first few impressions on me...and then after a couple of encounters...BAM! I just don't shut up :'D. Meh...I have too many polar opposites in my personality, even I can't predict what I'm really like.
Anyhoo...friends! I miss them a lot while being in Darwin. I often talk about them to my Darwinian friends.
I've gotten quite close to some in the past few months and there are also some I also want to get to know better some more. I just want to thank them for being awesome, sharing good times, making me laugh, looking after me and keeping me sane this year! You all know who you are :).
My results came out a couple of weeks ago. I thought I did better but it's not too bad. I can't say that I can't be proud of my efforts for this year.
Speaking of this year...far out, it really flew. Time flies way too quickly. I can't even come to terms of me growing up!
Well I'm back in Darwin. I have been for over three weeks now. It's so good to be home. I've missed the rain and the humidity soooo much! The green tree frogs are keeping me awake. I did miss the sound of their persistent croaking but now I just want to go outside and shoot them =P.
I've been catching up with my high school friends and it's very comforting (and at times not really) to know that they haven't changed at all...they're all still as weird and psychotic as ever! I can feel my IQ drop 100 points (assuming that I have over 100 points but I don't want to get cocky since it's ME I'm talking about) every time I'm around them, haha xD. We've had birthday parties, dinner parties, and Kris Kringle parties just to name a few. After three years of graduating from high school, it's great that we still catch up and find some time to spend with each other. Strong bonds are impossible to break, huh?
I can't also fail to mention it's great to see my parents too :). I've been giving my mother a massage almost every night (because she has back and neck problems) and been going out for lunch/dinner with dad whenever I could. It's nice spoiling my parents ad being spoiled in return :P.
Well other than bumming around, catching up with people, and feeling nostalgic, I've also been practising hard for my next year's program too. I am determined to impress my piano teacher, Lucinda.
Argh! I can never make these journal entries short.
Well, I guess this is enough to brief over my past month. I'm really just posting this because the frogs are keeping me awake, I'm bored, and I feel obliged to post something up about my mundane life =P.
Until next time!
Time finished: 04:36
Listening to: "Girl In The Flames" - Pendulum
Mood: Toothpaste
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
*Almost sees the light at the end of the tunnel*
Time started: 05:02
Listening to: Morning birds chirping away
Mood: A little more refreshed
Weather: Nice and cool but warm enough :D
I woke up at 4am and it is now 5am!
For the past few days I've been battling with chronic fatigue. I must've slept 20 hours a day for the past week and it was horrible trying to cope with keeping up with piano practise, completing contrapuntal analysis & composition assignment (which was the biggest Bitch with a capital B), writing up my essay for Music History and attempting to study for my Chauralation and Composition exam. I was feeling quite overwhelmed with the work load piling in all at once and not having the energy to live through it. However I'm glad to announce that I'm half way through it.
Yesterday I completed my contrapuntal assignment. I know that it was badly done and I finished it off with a rush but I DON'T CARE! IT'S DONE!! Far out...that was the gayest assignment for the entire year! My colleagues have been bitchin' and moaning about it too because it was so hard and time consuming (as well as brain cell consuming...). I probably spent 14 hours in total on EACH question and there were four of them (well...three, but one of them was divided into two parts). That's 56 HOURS ON THIS LITTLE PIECE OF ASSIGNMENT CRAP THAT WASN'T EVEN WORTH THAT MUCH! Okay...actually it was worth 12.5% which to me is quite a lot...but still........
Anyway...I also completed my Chauralation exam yesterday. What it is is just a singing exam, a component from Music History. It involves singing in a group and individual examination of modal singing as well as sight reading or atonal singing. I chose atonal singing. Overall I got 59/60 for my exam! I'm really happy about it! I lost the one mark from the group singing because our entries weren't really together. We only had two proper rehearsals though and they were quite rushed. Carl (the examiner) said that I was the only one so far to get full marks for the atonal melody. Woo! Maybe I'm some kind of singing genius! Hahaha...well, I could only dream. Well yeah...I'm just really happy about doing well in the exam because it means I got 29.5% out of 30% for the course. Right now I'm well over the High Distinction cut off for music history and just require 78% for my final essay to keep my High Distinction which I'm quite confident on achieving. I'm reasonably good at essays and I got 94% for last semester's essay so yeah :D.
I'm holding onto my happiness on Music History because I'm not doing particularly well this semester overall. I had a white wash of HD's last semester but this semester is probably going to be filled with Credits and my only HD will be for History. Contrapuntal Analysis & Composition exam is my only big hurdle now because I fear that I might actually fail it. I'm behind this course by about 8 weeks and done very little work on it. It's just such a boring subject involving compositing music using all these rules and numbers. It just seems to defeat the purpose of composing music for me. I know that J.S. Bach applied a lot of these rules and wrote great music but contrapuntal music BLAH! It doesn't mean that I have to! It's not like I'm going to be thinking about the rules and numbers of the music while I'm playing Bach! How is that going to help me make the music sound nice? That is beyond my comprehension...
Anyway...yeah...I'm worried about this course because yesterday Pey Shin was looking through my assignment before handing it in and she's noticed that I was doing everything wrong and asked me to study with her today. She's really good at this subject and I hope she can help me pass. If she does, I'll shout her laksa when we're in Malaysia! :D
I just wish the exam wasn't compulsory to pass...otherwise I'd be fine.
My contrapuntal exam is tomorrow (Wednesday) I also have to hand up my final essay for Music History and after that all I need to worry about is the piano exam which is Thursday next week. As long as I'm resting well and feeling energised, I should be able to do fine for the exam. I'm hoping I could pull a Distinction but I don't want to put such high expectations on myself and I'm more likely to pull a Credit. As long as I improve (which I am) and enjoy what I'm doing (which I am) then I'm happy.
Well...I can almost taste the end of the academic year and with my health struggles I'm just glad it's almost over! Not long til I'm home back in Darwin...then off to Malaysia with my mum to see my family! I'm also looking forward to a fresh new start for next year too :).
I wish anyone else who's stressing out about exams and assignments at this time of the year the best of luck and hope they pull through physically and emotionally!
Time finished: 05:26
Mood: Motivated
Weather: Still the same
Listening to: Morning birds chirping away
Mood: A little more refreshed
Weather: Nice and cool but warm enough :D
I woke up at 4am and it is now 5am!
For the past few days I've been battling with chronic fatigue. I must've slept 20 hours a day for the past week and it was horrible trying to cope with keeping up with piano practise, completing contrapuntal analysis & composition assignment (which was the biggest Bitch with a capital B), writing up my essay for Music History and attempting to study for my Chauralation and Composition exam. I was feeling quite overwhelmed with the work load piling in all at once and not having the energy to live through it. However I'm glad to announce that I'm half way through it.
Yesterday I completed my contrapuntal assignment. I know that it was badly done and I finished it off with a rush but I DON'T CARE! IT'S DONE!! Far out...that was the gayest assignment for the entire year! My colleagues have been bitchin' and moaning about it too because it was so hard and time consuming (as well as brain cell consuming...). I probably spent 14 hours in total on EACH question and there were four of them (well...three, but one of them was divided into two parts). That's 56 HOURS ON THIS LITTLE PIECE OF ASSIGNMENT CRAP THAT WASN'T EVEN WORTH THAT MUCH! Okay...actually it was worth 12.5% which to me is quite a lot...but still........
Anyway...I also completed my Chauralation exam yesterday. What it is is just a singing exam, a component from Music History. It involves singing in a group and individual examination of modal singing as well as sight reading or atonal singing. I chose atonal singing. Overall I got 59/60 for my exam! I'm really happy about it! I lost the one mark from the group singing because our entries weren't really together. We only had two proper rehearsals though and they were quite rushed. Carl (the examiner) said that I was the only one so far to get full marks for the atonal melody. Woo! Maybe I'm some kind of singing genius! Hahaha...well, I could only dream. Well yeah...I'm just really happy about doing well in the exam because it means I got 29.5% out of 30% for the course. Right now I'm well over the High Distinction cut off for music history and just require 78% for my final essay to keep my High Distinction which I'm quite confident on achieving. I'm reasonably good at essays and I got 94% for last semester's essay so yeah :D.
I'm holding onto my happiness on Music History because I'm not doing particularly well this semester overall. I had a white wash of HD's last semester but this semester is probably going to be filled with Credits and my only HD will be for History. Contrapuntal Analysis & Composition exam is my only big hurdle now because I fear that I might actually fail it. I'm behind this course by about 8 weeks and done very little work on it. It's just such a boring subject involving compositing music using all these rules and numbers. It just seems to defeat the purpose of composing music for me. I know that J.S. Bach applied a lot of these rules and wrote great music but contrapuntal music BLAH! It doesn't mean that I have to! It's not like I'm going to be thinking about the rules and numbers of the music while I'm playing Bach! How is that going to help me make the music sound nice? That is beyond my comprehension...
Anyway...yeah...I'm worried about this course because yesterday Pey Shin was looking through my assignment before handing it in and she's noticed that I was doing everything wrong and asked me to study with her today. She's really good at this subject and I hope she can help me pass. If she does, I'll shout her laksa when we're in Malaysia! :D
I just wish the exam wasn't compulsory to pass...otherwise I'd be fine.
My contrapuntal exam is tomorrow (Wednesday) I also have to hand up my final essay for Music History and after that all I need to worry about is the piano exam which is Thursday next week. As long as I'm resting well and feeling energised, I should be able to do fine for the exam. I'm hoping I could pull a Distinction but I don't want to put such high expectations on myself and I'm more likely to pull a Credit. As long as I improve (which I am) and enjoy what I'm doing (which I am) then I'm happy.
Well...I can almost taste the end of the academic year and with my health struggles I'm just glad it's almost over! Not long til I'm home back in Darwin...then off to Malaysia with my mum to see my family! I'm also looking forward to a fresh new start for next year too :).
I wish anyone else who's stressing out about exams and assignments at this time of the year the best of luck and hope they pull through physically and emotionally!
Time finished: 05:26
Mood: Motivated
Weather: Still the same
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Writing an Essay is like Proving the Value of 'x'!
Time started: 01:11
Listening to: The whirring of my external hard drive.
Weather: Overcast and fairly warm.
Mood: Exhausted/Somewhat stressed/Somewhat apathetic/Restless.
A lot has happened between the time I posted my last post to the point I am writing this post now...but I'll get to the stuff that has happened another time...right now I want to write about this:
I had a revelation as I was proof reading my friend's essay tonight.
Essay writing is like proving the value of x in an algebraic equation. Symbolically, this is how an essay should be along the lines of:
Essay topic: What is the value of x?
Intro: x + y + z = 16
y = 2
z = 6
People ponder over the value of x all the time but knowing algebra does wonders. For this equation, with the rules of algebra, and the given values, the conclusion can be drawn that the value of x is 8.
Body: If y = 2 and z = 6 then we know that x + 2 + 6 = 16.
2 + 6 = 8 thus x + 8 = 16
x = 16 - 8
x = 8. EUREKA!!!
Conclusion: Knowing the values of y and z in this equation is essential. Without these values, going through algebraic process to solve x is not possible. The world would be a better place if we all just stated unknown values...and if assessment tasks and exams in education is optional only
. X = 8, BIATCHES!
This is what my friend's essay is like:
Intro: x is solved like this...this and this...
But wait....the equation is x + y + z = 16!
y = 2. It is also the letter in the beginning of the words "yesterday", "you" and "yuck"!
z = 6. If you turned the letter 90 degrees, it would resemble a capital N! Not many people look at z in this kind of perspective!
x = 8 but it could be also be 4 + 4 since 4 + 4 = 8.
Body: 4 + 4 = 8. It's a scientifically proven fact, okay?!
Some people think x = 4 + 4.
x + 8 = 16 because the laws of algebra leads the equation to evolve to this state.
y = 2 suggests that x is 8.
z = 6 also suggests that x is 8.
OH! X = 16 - 8!
It seems to be that x = 8.
x could also be 4 + 4 since 4 + 4 = 16 - 8 is also true.
But it seems more likely that x = 8.
Conclusion:
x is a value unlike any other! Word.
Yep...I need a holiday.
I'm tired.
I do the strangest things when I'm tired...
2 ASSIGNMENTS DOWN, 2 MORE TO GO!
2 EXAMS DOWN, 3 MORE TO GO!
All within the next 12 days...fuuuuuun.
12 DAYS TIL UNI IS OVER FOR THIS YEAR!
14 DAYS TIL DARWIN!
WEEEEEEEE!
Time finished: 01:24am
Mood: GARGH! I JUST WANT IT ALL TO BE OVER!
Listening to: The whirring of my external hard drive.
Weather: Overcast and fairly warm.
Mood: Exhausted/Somewhat stressed/Somewhat apathetic/Restless.
A lot has happened between the time I posted my last post to the point I am writing this post now...but I'll get to the stuff that has happened another time...right now I want to write about this:
I had a revelation as I was proof reading my friend's essay tonight.
Essay writing is like proving the value of x in an algebraic equation. Symbolically, this is how an essay should be along the lines of:
Essay topic: What is the value of x?
Intro: x + y + z = 16
y = 2
z = 6
People ponder over the value of x all the time but knowing algebra does wonders. For this equation, with the rules of algebra, and the given values, the conclusion can be drawn that the value of x is 8.
Body: If y = 2 and z = 6 then we know that x + 2 + 6 = 16.
2 + 6 = 8 thus x + 8 = 16
x = 16 - 8
x = 8. EUREKA!!!
Conclusion: Knowing the values of y and z in this equation is essential. Without these values, going through algebraic process to solve x is not possible. The world would be a better place if we all just stated unknown values...and if assessment tasks and exams in education is optional only
. X = 8, BIATCHES!This is what my friend's essay is like:
Intro: x is solved like this...this and this...
But wait....the equation is x + y + z = 16!
y = 2. It is also the letter in the beginning of the words "yesterday", "you" and "yuck"!
z = 6. If you turned the letter 90 degrees, it would resemble a capital N! Not many people look at z in this kind of perspective!
x = 8 but it could be also be 4 + 4 since 4 + 4 = 8.
Body: 4 + 4 = 8. It's a scientifically proven fact, okay?!
Some people think x = 4 + 4.
x + 8 = 16 because the laws of algebra leads the equation to evolve to this state.
y = 2 suggests that x is 8.
z = 6 also suggests that x is 8.
OH! X = 16 - 8!
It seems to be that x = 8.
x could also be 4 + 4 since 4 + 4 = 16 - 8 is also true.
But it seems more likely that x = 8.
Conclusion:
x is a value unlike any other! Word.
Yep...I need a holiday.
I'm tired.
I do the strangest things when I'm tired...
2 ASSIGNMENTS DOWN, 2 MORE TO GO!
2 EXAMS DOWN, 3 MORE TO GO!
All within the next 12 days...fuuuuuun.
12 DAYS TIL UNI IS OVER FOR THIS YEAR!
14 DAYS TIL DARWIN!
WEEEEEEEE!
Time finished: 01:24am
Mood: GARGH! I JUST WANT IT ALL TO BE OVER!
Friday, August 15, 2008
My Cousin's Wedding
Time started: 22:55
Place: Living room (Adelaide)
Listening to: "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 (AOL Sessions)" - The Flaming Lips
Weather: Freezing cold >.<;; Mood: Exhausted...
I went back to Darwin for four days from 8th-12th August for my cousin's wedding. Kevin Phang and Christina Chau (now Christina Phang :D) had their Chinese wedding on Friday 8th. It took place at my uncle's house in Alawa. They looked glamorous in traditional Chinese wedding gowns. It involved the bride and the groom presenting tea to the elder members of their family and the younger members of their family present tea to them. I, being the younger cousin, had to present tea to the bride and the groom. It made Kevin and Christina feel old. After the paying of respects with tea, we stuffed ourselves with homemade cooking from various members of the family, including my mum. We all sat outside in the yard, eating and chatting away and it has been such a long time since I've had a family gathering like this. There were also some family members I've never met before, such as one of my paternal aunts who lived in Japan. There were also aunts and uncles I haven't seen for years. Later that night, we all had a BBQ at the same place and together we watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games! It was sensational! I especially liked the drums and the taichi.
On Saturday it was the official wedding at Pee Wee's restaurant at East Point, by the beach. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous! You could see the love for each other between the bride and groom as they exchanged their vows. Christina bawled her eyes out with tears of joy and sent the whole room bawling along with her. It was a very touching moment. Then we all took many, many photos of the bride and groom and of each other. As the sun was setting we all sat down at our designated tables and ate a marvelous buffet dinner, followed by scrumptious desert. The sunset was beautiful, but since we were at the East point, we couldn't actually see the sun, but the sky was still rich in colours and clouds. At night fall, the ocean was so calm, and we could see the city lights across the water. It was beautiful. There were several sailing boats along the water with their lights too. The view was breath-taking and the scene had a very romantic mood. I was very glad that this beautiful place was the venue for my cousin's wedding. I was very happy for him and Christina. After dinner, the bride and groom played some wedding games. The first one involved the bride being blind-folded and a group of men (including the groom) had to line up as the bride had to run her fingers through each man's lips and she had to guess which one was her husband's. Kevin was the third man out of six and she guessed right the first time with much thought. The second game involved the groom being blind-folded and six girls had to line up with feint wedding rings on their left hand (including the bride with her real wedding ring). Kevin had to feel each of their fingers and guess which one was Christina's and he guessed right straight away. It was amazing! The third game involved Christina standing on a chair with a napkin held against her chest. Then she had two strawberries hanging from her chest and Kevin had to eat the strawberries from her chest without using his hands. It was funny to watch xD. WARNING, THE LAST GAME CONTAINS SEXUAL REFERENCES. UNDER-AGED READERS READ AT THEIR OWN RISKS! The last game involved Kevin standing on a chair and Christina had to put an egg up his pants and take it out from the top of his trousers without breaking the egg. Christina did well to get it all the way up to the top of Kevin's thigh but was unable to pass it and take it out. It was stuck and funnily enough, it looked like Christina was giving Kevin a hand-job xD. The bridesmaid was commentating and said "Uh oh...the egg appears to be stuck after Christina successfully moved the egg up Kevin's leg! Could it be that Kevin's package is obstructing the pathway of the egg?" and after minutes of fondling the egg in Kevin's pants, Christina gave up and Kevin announced "On behalf of the bride, I would like to apologise because I found the strawberry game before too arousing..." xD. Classic stuff! Towards midnight, the bride and groom finally did their first dance and it was funny watching Kevin trying to do the waltz. It was simple, yet touching. Soon enough, the rest of us joined the dance floor. Soon it was late and my mum was tired so we went home. Believe it or not, it was the first time I've ever attended a wedding and it was a beautiful experience! I am so happy for Kevin and Christina.
On Sunday and Monday I enjoyed my remaining time in Darwin's blissful weather. I mostly stayed at home bumming around and watched the Olympic games. AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE! OI, OI, OI! xD I flew back to Adelaide on Tuesday morning and I was very unhappy to be back into the cold weather -.-;;. I was also feeling quite sick too after the wedding and the flying. I still haven't recovered from tonsillitis. I completely missed the third week of uni because I've been so nauseated and lethargic. I had a fever on Thursday of 38.4 degrees Celsius and all week my body's been experiencing so much aches and pains. At night I can't sleep because I have trouble breathing and I can't stop coughing. I'm very worried about being so behind uni now. So far this semester I've only attended three classes...I've missed out A LOT! Today I went to the doctor and he has a huge hunch that I have chronic fatigue syndrome which explains why I'm not recovering at all and why I experience palpations, low blood pressure, have a shocking immune system, and respiratory problems, as well as of course, constant fatigue over the past few months. Well if I do have CFS, that sucks because there's no way to treat it. On the brighter side, it is not at all life-threatening...just a pain in the arse to go through. I hope I get through second semester of uni okay...this is a very important semester and I want to be able to pass through it with flying colours. One great thing about being sick is I get to stay at home and watch the Olympics all day! I'm really enjoying it. Australia's doing pretty well so far. GO THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S SWIMMING TEAM!!! :D Everyone's making such a big deal about Stephanie Rice though...but I can see why. Three gold medals and three world records at the age of 20. Everyone's making such a big deal about American Michael Phelps too...again, I can see why...self explanatory...xD. China is scary...they're flogging the whole world. With 25 gold for China, and USA with 14 gold...the US can't even compare with them in terms of number of gold...I know China's always been good at Gymnastics, Archery, Shooting and Diving but...weightlifting?! Since when have they been dominating in Weightlifting? It's the first I've heard of this...maybe I've always just been oblivious about weight-lifting. I always thought the Middle East and Mediterranean countries were good at weight-lifting. I wanted China to be on top this year since they're hosting the Olympics but now I'm already sick of them haha xD. How disappointing that the little girl at the opening ceremony was miming too...I'm more annoyed with the fact that they didn't want to use the REAL singer because she isn't "pretty" enough. How discriminating! But anyway...Aussie's getting many medals for such a little country so I'm happy :D. They're also doing well at other events BESIDES swimming so WOOO! First week finishing off with 6 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze...GOOD EFFORT, AUSSIE! WOOOO! Yeah, shut up...I'm patriotic.
Well...I guess that's all for now. There's nothing much else to talk about besides being sick and the Olympics... Hopefully next week I will feel better and go to uni and cope just fine...
Time finished: 23:52
Listening to: "Ewan" - The Radio Dept.
Mood: Patriotic :'D
Place: Living room (Adelaide)
Listening to: "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1 (AOL Sessions)" - The Flaming Lips
Weather: Freezing cold >.<;; Mood: Exhausted...
I went back to Darwin for four days from 8th-12th August for my cousin's wedding. Kevin Phang and Christina Chau (now Christina Phang :D) had their Chinese wedding on Friday 8th. It took place at my uncle's house in Alawa. They looked glamorous in traditional Chinese wedding gowns. It involved the bride and the groom presenting tea to the elder members of their family and the younger members of their family present tea to them. I, being the younger cousin, had to present tea to the bride and the groom. It made Kevin and Christina feel old. After the paying of respects with tea, we stuffed ourselves with homemade cooking from various members of the family, including my mum. We all sat outside in the yard, eating and chatting away and it has been such a long time since I've had a family gathering like this. There were also some family members I've never met before, such as one of my paternal aunts who lived in Japan. There were also aunts and uncles I haven't seen for years. Later that night, we all had a BBQ at the same place and together we watched the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic games! It was sensational! I especially liked the drums and the taichi.
On Saturday it was the official wedding at Pee Wee's restaurant at East Point, by the beach. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous! You could see the love for each other between the bride and groom as they exchanged their vows. Christina bawled her eyes out with tears of joy and sent the whole room bawling along with her. It was a very touching moment. Then we all took many, many photos of the bride and groom and of each other. As the sun was setting we all sat down at our designated tables and ate a marvelous buffet dinner, followed by scrumptious desert. The sunset was beautiful, but since we were at the East point, we couldn't actually see the sun, but the sky was still rich in colours and clouds. At night fall, the ocean was so calm, and we could see the city lights across the water. It was beautiful. There were several sailing boats along the water with their lights too. The view was breath-taking and the scene had a very romantic mood. I was very glad that this beautiful place was the venue for my cousin's wedding. I was very happy for him and Christina. After dinner, the bride and groom played some wedding games. The first one involved the bride being blind-folded and a group of men (including the groom) had to line up as the bride had to run her fingers through each man's lips and she had to guess which one was her husband's. Kevin was the third man out of six and she guessed right the first time with much thought. The second game involved the groom being blind-folded and six girls had to line up with feint wedding rings on their left hand (including the bride with her real wedding ring). Kevin had to feel each of their fingers and guess which one was Christina's and he guessed right straight away. It was amazing! The third game involved Christina standing on a chair with a napkin held against her chest. Then she had two strawberries hanging from her chest and Kevin had to eat the strawberries from her chest without using his hands. It was funny to watch xD. WARNING, THE LAST GAME CONTAINS SEXUAL REFERENCES. UNDER-AGED READERS READ AT THEIR OWN RISKS! The last game involved Kevin standing on a chair and Christina had to put an egg up his pants and take it out from the top of his trousers without breaking the egg. Christina did well to get it all the way up to the top of Kevin's thigh but was unable to pass it and take it out. It was stuck and funnily enough, it looked like Christina was giving Kevin a hand-job xD. The bridesmaid was commentating and said "Uh oh...the egg appears to be stuck after Christina successfully moved the egg up Kevin's leg! Could it be that Kevin's package is obstructing the pathway of the egg?" and after minutes of fondling the egg in Kevin's pants, Christina gave up and Kevin announced "On behalf of the bride, I would like to apologise because I found the strawberry game before too arousing..." xD. Classic stuff! Towards midnight, the bride and groom finally did their first dance and it was funny watching Kevin trying to do the waltz. It was simple, yet touching. Soon enough, the rest of us joined the dance floor. Soon it was late and my mum was tired so we went home. Believe it or not, it was the first time I've ever attended a wedding and it was a beautiful experience! I am so happy for Kevin and Christina.
On Sunday and Monday I enjoyed my remaining time in Darwin's blissful weather. I mostly stayed at home bumming around and watched the Olympic games. AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE! OI, OI, OI! xD I flew back to Adelaide on Tuesday morning and I was very unhappy to be back into the cold weather -.-;;. I was also feeling quite sick too after the wedding and the flying. I still haven't recovered from tonsillitis. I completely missed the third week of uni because I've been so nauseated and lethargic. I had a fever on Thursday of 38.4 degrees Celsius and all week my body's been experiencing so much aches and pains. At night I can't sleep because I have trouble breathing and I can't stop coughing. I'm very worried about being so behind uni now. So far this semester I've only attended three classes...I've missed out A LOT! Today I went to the doctor and he has a huge hunch that I have chronic fatigue syndrome which explains why I'm not recovering at all and why I experience palpations, low blood pressure, have a shocking immune system, and respiratory problems, as well as of course, constant fatigue over the past few months. Well if I do have CFS, that sucks because there's no way to treat it. On the brighter side, it is not at all life-threatening...just a pain in the arse to go through. I hope I get through second semester of uni okay...this is a very important semester and I want to be able to pass through it with flying colours. One great thing about being sick is I get to stay at home and watch the Olympics all day! I'm really enjoying it. Australia's doing pretty well so far. GO THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S SWIMMING TEAM!!! :D Everyone's making such a big deal about Stephanie Rice though...but I can see why. Three gold medals and three world records at the age of 20. Everyone's making such a big deal about American Michael Phelps too...again, I can see why...self explanatory...xD. China is scary...they're flogging the whole world. With 25 gold for China, and USA with 14 gold...the US can't even compare with them in terms of number of gold...I know China's always been good at Gymnastics, Archery, Shooting and Diving but...weightlifting?! Since when have they been dominating in Weightlifting? It's the first I've heard of this...maybe I've always just been oblivious about weight-lifting. I always thought the Middle East and Mediterranean countries were good at weight-lifting. I wanted China to be on top this year since they're hosting the Olympics but now I'm already sick of them haha xD. How disappointing that the little girl at the opening ceremony was miming too...I'm more annoyed with the fact that they didn't want to use the REAL singer because she isn't "pretty" enough. How discriminating! But anyway...Aussie's getting many medals for such a little country so I'm happy :D. They're also doing well at other events BESIDES swimming so WOOO! First week finishing off with 6 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze...GOOD EFFORT, AUSSIE! WOOOO! Yeah, shut up...I'm patriotic.
Well...I guess that's all for now. There's nothing much else to talk about besides being sick and the Olympics... Hopefully next week I will feel better and go to uni and cope just fine...
Time finished: 23:52
Listening to: "Ewan" - The Radio Dept.
Mood: Patriotic :'D
Monday, August 4, 2008
First Week Back with Tonsillitis.
Time started: 21:37
Place: My room (In Adelaide)
Listening to: "Looking For Water" - David Bowie
Weather: Cold...
Mood: Lethargic.
I didn't have a great week back in Adelaide. The night before my flight, I came down with tonsillitis so flying was hell. I felt like vomitting, I had a fever, and my throat hurt like hell. Luckily Jasper was on the flight with me. It was stupid that Jarrad wouldn't pick us up from the airport either but I don't really blame him since we arrive at 6:35am. We caught the taxi all the way home and thankfully the fare wasn't as bad as I anticipated it to be.
On Monday, our first day of semester 2, I began with a piano lesson with Lucinda. We went through my Italian Concerto by Bach and the lesson seemed mundane but I guess I was feeling really under the weather. Keyboard musicianship looks really hard this semester and I have a feeling I'm going to struggle. During Technique and Repetoire Class, I had an asthma attack and missed out on 3/4 of the class and wound up at the health clinic at uni. The doctor gave me some ventolin and prescribed me some antibiotics because he said I have tonsillitis. As soon as I went home, I slept until late in the afternoon on Tuesday. I was so incredibly lethargic.
On Wednesday, I had uni again. The History lecture was all about Beethoven. The course outline didn't really explain much either. Chauralation was cancelled because our conductor Carl was sick which sucked because Chauralation is fun. It's also good too because I didn't have a voice. Pey Shin, Sam, Fei and I spent our two hours worth of free periods at the Backstage café just sitting together and chatting about stuff. It was good to hang out with them again :). Then we had our Theory lecture and I missed practically the entire lecture because I had another asthma attack. Paul, a classmate of mine, was very kind to come and see how I was going outside and offered to call an ambulance but that was unnecessary. He took me to a water bubbler though and I was very grateful for his kindness and concern. Later that day I discovered that my glasses broke. One of the lenses fell out and I couldn't find it anywhere so that meant I needed new glasses. I made an appointment with the optometrist after class.
That night I experienced excruciating pain in my left ear and I couldn't sleep all night. In the morning my ear was bleeding and I decided it was best for me to not go to uni for that day. My left ear has felt blocked and has been buzzing ever since. So yeah...that was my first week of uni and I feel like I've missed out on so much already. I'm not having a very good to semester 2 at all...
On Friday, I had a better day. I went to meet Riana and Helen for lunch and it was lovely to see them again. Jarrad and Jasper tagged along but I think they were bored. Later I met up with Sam to exchange burnt discs, then I shouted him laksa because I said that I would if he passed theory last semester. Then I had my optometrist appointment, got my eyes tested and picked two pairs of glasses (buy one get one free :D). I can't wait for them to get done because apparently they look good on me =P. I always look like a nerd when I wear glasses and I hate wearing them. I might wear them constantly this time.
My weekend consisted of just practising a lot on the piano. I'm proud of my efforts for the weekend. I practised 6 hours per day and I was feeling a little better with tonsillitis. It was a pity I got Ryan and Jasper sick though. Right now I'm trying my hardest not to get Jarrad sick...
Today I was meant to go to uni but I had an asthma attack last night and didn't sleep so I felt absolutely awful when I woke up and didn't go to uni again. It was a bad idea because I'm going to miss out on next Monday's lessons too since I'd be in Darwin for my cousin's wedding. I'm having such an awful start to this semester and I'm already feeling overwhelmed...
Well...today I was bored and decided to bake pandan cake again. This attempt was a much better success compared to when I made it for Jarrad's birthday. The only thing wrong with it is I added a bit too much cream of tartar so it's a bit on the sour side, but aside from that...it tastes pretty good :D.
I fly to Darwin on Thursday evening and I can't wait to spend a few days in Darwin again where it's nice and warm. It's freezing cold here and I DON'T LIKE IT!!! I'm concerned that it's going to disrupt my start to this semester even more though...and I hate being sick...I'm wondering if I'll ever get better...damn my immune system...
Time finished: 22:00
Listening to: "La Cerca" - Sparta
Mood: Worried...
Place: My room (In Adelaide)
Listening to: "Looking For Water" - David Bowie
Weather: Cold...
Mood: Lethargic.
I didn't have a great week back in Adelaide. The night before my flight, I came down with tonsillitis so flying was hell. I felt like vomitting, I had a fever, and my throat hurt like hell. Luckily Jasper was on the flight with me. It was stupid that Jarrad wouldn't pick us up from the airport either but I don't really blame him since we arrive at 6:35am. We caught the taxi all the way home and thankfully the fare wasn't as bad as I anticipated it to be.
On Monday, our first day of semester 2, I began with a piano lesson with Lucinda. We went through my Italian Concerto by Bach and the lesson seemed mundane but I guess I was feeling really under the weather. Keyboard musicianship looks really hard this semester and I have a feeling I'm going to struggle. During Technique and Repetoire Class, I had an asthma attack and missed out on 3/4 of the class and wound up at the health clinic at uni. The doctor gave me some ventolin and prescribed me some antibiotics because he said I have tonsillitis. As soon as I went home, I slept until late in the afternoon on Tuesday. I was so incredibly lethargic.
On Wednesday, I had uni again. The History lecture was all about Beethoven. The course outline didn't really explain much either. Chauralation was cancelled because our conductor Carl was sick which sucked because Chauralation is fun. It's also good too because I didn't have a voice. Pey Shin, Sam, Fei and I spent our two hours worth of free periods at the Backstage café just sitting together and chatting about stuff. It was good to hang out with them again :). Then we had our Theory lecture and I missed practically the entire lecture because I had another asthma attack. Paul, a classmate of mine, was very kind to come and see how I was going outside and offered to call an ambulance but that was unnecessary. He took me to a water bubbler though and I was very grateful for his kindness and concern. Later that day I discovered that my glasses broke. One of the lenses fell out and I couldn't find it anywhere so that meant I needed new glasses. I made an appointment with the optometrist after class.
That night I experienced excruciating pain in my left ear and I couldn't sleep all night. In the morning my ear was bleeding and I decided it was best for me to not go to uni for that day. My left ear has felt blocked and has been buzzing ever since. So yeah...that was my first week of uni and I feel like I've missed out on so much already. I'm not having a very good to semester 2 at all...
On Friday, I had a better day. I went to meet Riana and Helen for lunch and it was lovely to see them again. Jarrad and Jasper tagged along but I think they were bored. Later I met up with Sam to exchange burnt discs, then I shouted him laksa because I said that I would if he passed theory last semester. Then I had my optometrist appointment, got my eyes tested and picked two pairs of glasses (buy one get one free :D). I can't wait for them to get done because apparently they look good on me =P. I always look like a nerd when I wear glasses and I hate wearing them. I might wear them constantly this time.
My weekend consisted of just practising a lot on the piano. I'm proud of my efforts for the weekend. I practised 6 hours per day and I was feeling a little better with tonsillitis. It was a pity I got Ryan and Jasper sick though. Right now I'm trying my hardest not to get Jarrad sick...
Today I was meant to go to uni but I had an asthma attack last night and didn't sleep so I felt absolutely awful when I woke up and didn't go to uni again. It was a bad idea because I'm going to miss out on next Monday's lessons too since I'd be in Darwin for my cousin's wedding. I'm having such an awful start to this semester and I'm already feeling overwhelmed...
Well...today I was bored and decided to bake pandan cake again. This attempt was a much better success compared to when I made it for Jarrad's birthday. The only thing wrong with it is I added a bit too much cream of tartar so it's a bit on the sour side, but aside from that...it tastes pretty good :D.
I fly to Darwin on Thursday evening and I can't wait to spend a few days in Darwin again where it's nice and warm. It's freezing cold here and I DON'T LIKE IT!!! I'm concerned that it's going to disrupt my start to this semester even more though...and I hate being sick...I'm wondering if I'll ever get better...damn my immune system...
Time finished: 22:00
Listening to: "La Cerca" - Sparta
Mood: Worried...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Short Darwin Holiday
Time started: 00:23
Place: My room in Darwin
Listening to: "Light" - Menomena
Weather: Cool and pleasant
Mood: Could be better...
It has been a while since I posted an entry. I have a mixture of excuses with being both slack and preoccupied, but I've decided that it is time that I should update this and hopefully make it brief.
I've been in Darwin for the past three weeks and tomorrow morning I am heading back to cold and miserable Adelaide. It makes me sad knowing that the holidays has come to an end.
What have I been up to while I've been here? Well...mostly staying at home and practising unproductively on the piano but I had a few opportunities to catch up with old friends. Unfortunately I didn't get to catch up with them as much as I would've hoped but when I did...it was lovely!
I had a couple of brunches with my old high school friends, and a couple of dinners with them as well. It was nice to have some quirky moments with them like back in the old days. I went to the Mindil Beach Markets every week. I just love the culture and the atmosphere there. Unfortunately I only went to the beach once (I know...disappointing) but I managed to take a couple of nice photos there. It was so nice to see them again. I'm so glad that after having graduated from high school three years ago and been scattered all around the country, we all still manage to get together and spend some time together during the holidays. It just makes our friendship so much more special.
I went to the movies and watched Get Smart, The Dark Knight, and The X Files: I Want To Believe. Get Smart was surprisingly quite amusing and great to watch (I didn't expect much of it, I had to admit), The Dark Knight, without a doubt, was superb but it made me sad knowing that it was Heath Ledger's final full performance. He was a sensational joker, like everyone says. Christian Bale also made an awesome Batman too. In fact...all the actors were good! As a huge X Files fan, I was incredibly disappointed with The X Files. The first movie "Fight the Future" was great, the series, is great...and it took so long for this second movie to be released and it was UTTER CRAP!!! Agent Mulder had a couple of great witty lines here and there but seriously...the movie was just a lame excuse for Billy Connelly to play a paedophile priest! I'm HUGELY disappointed...
At home I spent my free time watching anime. One series I managed to finish watching was Death Note. One word: AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe how good this series is!! If you haven't seen it...WATCH IT!
When mum gets home from work, at night we watch movies on my computer. It's good to spend time with her and let her have the opportunity to relax and enjoy a good movie at night. We watched a lot of movies since I was here.
Anyway, the weather here has been pure bliss. It's warm enough to wear just a shirt and shorts (I feel so free!) and it's still cool and balmy. Sunny skies and cool breezes all day long. Just perfect! I am dreading going back to Adelaide right now where it's raining, freezing cold...and miserable. I am also dreading going back to university since earlier I mentioned I practised UNPRODUCTIVELY. My teacher, Lucinda is going to be very unimpressed with how much I've learned of my pieces...which isn't a lot at all...
I am by no means falling behind for semester two, but I really wanted to show her that I'm a dedicated and hard working student. These holidays I've been pretty lazy with piano practise. There were even some days that I didn't do any practise at all!
Well...on the brighter side of things, my semester one results came out a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I got my results I was bouncing off the walls and this is why:
Classical Performance: 82 Distinction (I was expecting a Credit)
Keyboard Musicianship: 79 Distinction (again, was expecting a Credit)
Foundations of Music History: 86 High Distinction (expecting a Distinction)
Analysis and Theory of Music: 86 High Distinction (actually...I expected this =P)
I am sooooo happyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My two practical courses (Classical Performance and Keyboard Musicianship) are still continuing so hopefully I can scrape them up to a High Distinction by the end of the year, I would still be happy if I got Distinction though. And hopefully for Foundations of Music History 2 and Contrapuntal Analysis & Composition of Music for this semester, I can maintain high marks like semester 1.
Well, next time I update this, I'll probably be in Adelaide. In two weeks time though, I will be back in Darwin again for my cousin's wedding :D. I am looking forward to coming back to Darwin and seeing my beloved cousin tying the knot, and just being home, even if it's only for 4 days.
Time finished: 00:59
Listening to: "No Cars Go" - Arcade Fire
Mood: Dread
Place: My room in Darwin
Listening to: "Light" - Menomena
Weather: Cool and pleasant
Mood: Could be better...
It has been a while since I posted an entry. I have a mixture of excuses with being both slack and preoccupied, but I've decided that it is time that I should update this and hopefully make it brief.
I've been in Darwin for the past three weeks and tomorrow morning I am heading back to cold and miserable Adelaide. It makes me sad knowing that the holidays has come to an end.
What have I been up to while I've been here? Well...mostly staying at home and practising unproductively on the piano but I had a few opportunities to catch up with old friends. Unfortunately I didn't get to catch up with them as much as I would've hoped but when I did...it was lovely!
I had a couple of brunches with my old high school friends, and a couple of dinners with them as well. It was nice to have some quirky moments with them like back in the old days. I went to the Mindil Beach Markets every week. I just love the culture and the atmosphere there. Unfortunately I only went to the beach once (I know...disappointing) but I managed to take a couple of nice photos there. It was so nice to see them again. I'm so glad that after having graduated from high school three years ago and been scattered all around the country, we all still manage to get together and spend some time together during the holidays. It just makes our friendship so much more special.
I went to the movies and watched Get Smart, The Dark Knight, and The X Files: I Want To Believe. Get Smart was surprisingly quite amusing and great to watch (I didn't expect much of it, I had to admit), The Dark Knight, without a doubt, was superb but it made me sad knowing that it was Heath Ledger's final full performance. He was a sensational joker, like everyone says. Christian Bale also made an awesome Batman too. In fact...all the actors were good! As a huge X Files fan, I was incredibly disappointed with The X Files. The first movie "Fight the Future" was great, the series, is great...and it took so long for this second movie to be released and it was UTTER CRAP!!! Agent Mulder had a couple of great witty lines here and there but seriously...the movie was just a lame excuse for Billy Connelly to play a paedophile priest! I'm HUGELY disappointed...
At home I spent my free time watching anime. One series I managed to finish watching was Death Note. One word: AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe how good this series is!! If you haven't seen it...WATCH IT!
When mum gets home from work, at night we watch movies on my computer. It's good to spend time with her and let her have the opportunity to relax and enjoy a good movie at night. We watched a lot of movies since I was here.
Anyway, the weather here has been pure bliss. It's warm enough to wear just a shirt and shorts (I feel so free!) and it's still cool and balmy. Sunny skies and cool breezes all day long. Just perfect! I am dreading going back to Adelaide right now where it's raining, freezing cold...and miserable. I am also dreading going back to university since earlier I mentioned I practised UNPRODUCTIVELY. My teacher, Lucinda is going to be very unimpressed with how much I've learned of my pieces...which isn't a lot at all...
I am by no means falling behind for semester two, but I really wanted to show her that I'm a dedicated and hard working student. These holidays I've been pretty lazy with piano practise. There were even some days that I didn't do any practise at all!
Well...on the brighter side of things, my semester one results came out a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I got my results I was bouncing off the walls and this is why:
Classical Performance: 82 Distinction (I was expecting a Credit)
Keyboard Musicianship: 79 Distinction (again, was expecting a Credit)
Foundations of Music History: 86 High Distinction (expecting a Distinction)
Analysis and Theory of Music: 86 High Distinction (actually...I expected this =P)
I am sooooo happyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My two practical courses (Classical Performance and Keyboard Musicianship) are still continuing so hopefully I can scrape them up to a High Distinction by the end of the year, I would still be happy if I got Distinction though. And hopefully for Foundations of Music History 2 and Contrapuntal Analysis & Composition of Music for this semester, I can maintain high marks like semester 1.
Well, next time I update this, I'll probably be in Adelaide. In two weeks time though, I will be back in Darwin again for my cousin's wedding :D. I am looking forward to coming back to Darwin and seeing my beloved cousin tying the knot, and just being home, even if it's only for 4 days.
Time finished: 00:59
Listening to: "No Cars Go" - Arcade Fire
Mood: Dread
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The First Semester Approaches its End
Time started: 23:35
Listening to: "Eli, The Barrow Boy" - The Decemberists
Weather: Unfavourable to my poor, weakling fingers that are currently numbed from the cold
Mood: Bored
It is now exam season of semester one and I am approaching my very final exam of the semester which will be my classical performance for piano on 1st July. Am I ready for it? Not quite...my left hand has a lot of insecurities and misbehaves. My right hand is bold, arrogant and moves like a truck. Perhaps I am not showing them enough tender loving care. Lucinda tells me that I should have an intimate relationship with the piano. Intimate, huh? Well it seems like we're having a lot of disagreements with each other...
Anyway...before I get carried away with my difficult love affair with a musical instrument, I'll make a short summary on term two (or at least try to make it short).
First of all, I'd like to mention that even though at times the work load has been intense (ie. Music History's final essay, stressing over sight reading and transposition for Keyboard Musicianship, assignments for Music Theory etc, etc, etc...), I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, learning everything about music! I'm doing reasonably well and I feel like I've found my grounds. Once again, I have to say switching from Biomedical Science to Music was by far the BEST decision I've made in my life! I just feel like I belong to what I am doing now. I've never been happier about where I am in life than now.
With my more positive outlook in my studies, I've found that I also have a more positive personality at home too. I'm not depressing around my house mates anymore, seeking comfort in them like I did in the past. I concentrate better in class, and with my surroundings elsewhere. I think clearer, I'm happier, filled with more energy and overall, life is just so much better.
The fundamental cause of this is making friends which I've struggled and tried to do since I moved to Adelaide. First of all I'd like to make a testimonial to Pey Shin: fun, genuinely caring, supportive, loyal, spontaneous, and even with her don't-take-life-too seriously attitude and energetic nature, still sophisticated and wise at the same time. I look forward to going to uni just to talk to this girl and hearing what she has to say about anything. I feel like I can learn a lot from this girl in terms of life experiences and outlooks in life as well. Her genuine kindness also makes me love her more and more as I get to know her too. I can just feel that we'll share a lot of good moments to come in the coming years. Even though I only got to know her in such a short time, I already feel like I can trust her completely and hopefully I can show her my loyalties to her too in return to what she's given me.
Secondly, a testimonial to Sam: What can I say...oddball (!!!!!), at times - psychotic, intellectual, energetic, funny, enthusiastic, friendly, always smiling and easy going (as well as easily distracted =P). He is like the icing of the cake that makes dull cakes awesome and gives them their zest (yes, I'm terribly with my clichés...lay off, will ya?)! I'm glad I've had the opportunity to study music theory with him because I've learned we share a lot of common interests, especially with music (and none of my friends share my taste in music! Waaah!), and he's a lot of fun to talk to and be around. I feel like I can have enjoyable conversations with him that have no means of an end when a lot of other people would find talking to me completely and utterly boring. His dedication and enthusiasm astounds me too. I've told him this many times already but I'm so proud of him.
Pey Shin and Sam are pretty much the two new friends I've made that helped me get through the last moments of Semester 1, especially when we practised for our Chauralation exam and our Introduction to Analysis and Theory of Music exam. We had intense rehearsal and study sessions which consisted of us going to uni almost every day for several hours, getting together and helping each other learn and improve. We tired ourselves out physically and mentally yet we supported each other all the way through and there were hilarious moments here and there that made it oh so fun! Even though I am REALLY glad the Music Theory exam is over (and I think I did brilliantly in it, by the way), I miss our study sessions which I know we won't have for another few months at least! Boohoo :(.
Speaking of Chauralation rehearsals, I can't fail to mention Feishi (who we affectionately call Fei =P, maybe I should call Pey Shin/Josephine 'Pey' or 'Joseph'...hehe...OHNOES...TANGENT!): I don't know her TOO well yet but from the short time we've spent together I've learned that she is very sweet, encouraging, dedicated, and she surprisingly tolerated my bossiness (well, I felt like I was being bossy anyway) during the rehearsals (I'm so sorry, Fei!). She was always bubbly, friendly, yet reserved in our rehearsal which I think is really cute. Hopefully I will become better acquainted with her next semester!
I also must mention Johanna whom I also haven't gotten to know too well yet but am getting there. She has expressed a lot of kindness and concern for me during times when I was sick, or stressed from studies. She's quite funny, mature, and really friendly with everyone around her. I cannot forget her giving up her studying time, coming out night shopping with me (Pey Shin too). We spent a good two hours at least looking for my black pants which I needed for our Chauralation concert, even though she didn't need to buy anything that night. She also kindly helped me out with Music Theory by giving me her mp3's for our Repertoire Listening Project. What a life saver!
There are also a lot of other people that I would like to mention here too but I have still yet to know them better but I am keen to for the next semester. In the mean time, I am really happy that I have made awesome friends this semester and I would like to express my gratitude and love for them being awesome for who they are :). I feel so blessed to have met so many kind people throughout my life, especially here in Adelaide where I'm away from home, mum, a lot of my old friends. And how can I forget my old friends? They are all so important to me, and they know who they are so I don't need to mention their names. It's only just over a week 'til I get to see them again back in Darwin, and for those who aren't in Darwin...I will see them some day again :).
Okay...now to events (yeah...I think I epically failed on keeping this short!). Early in June I had my Keyboard Musicianship Exam. I did alright but I didn't do as well as I would've liked. Sight reading really let me down. I am tragic at sight reading. I wouldn't be surprised if I got zero marks for it. I also did horribly in clarinet transposition too (which is practically sight reading). At least I did perfectly/almost perfectly at my other prepared topics so that made up for the ghastliness. We also had a Chauralation concert which overall was pretty good. I witnessed some very awesome choirs and I had fun singing in it too. It wasn't so much fun going home alone late at night though...
I can't remember the chronological order but I also did an Aural test (which I aced), an assignment for Theory (89% Woo!), Music History essay about Enlightenment and the Sonata Form (which took me forever!!!!!!), Chauralation exam (individually I did pretty good, but our group performances weren't quite so because of the sound of the keyboard playing while we sang...oh the horror!), and finally, the Music Theory exam we did on Monday. Pey Shin, Sam and I studied so hard for it and I think I did good, Sam reckon he passed (yay!) but Pey Shin was disappointed for not finishing one question, but I'm sure she did excellently overall anyway!
Today (well...yesterday according to the clock) I caught up with Adam whom I haven't seen for a several weeks and we went to Glenelg for lunch. It was good to see him again and we had a depressing reminiscence of the 90's which wasn't so good but what the heck...the day was still awesome! It was good to get out of studying and just going out and taking some time off while catching up with a friend!
Now I have nothing to do but practise 6 hours a day on the piano for my piano exam which I am EXTREMELY nervous about...I really want to do well but I feel like I haven't gotten up to the standard I want to be at yet.
I hope everyone else who has/had exams is doing/did fine with their studying. For those who still have exams, good luck!
Time for me to shut up and make my exit! Min has left the building! Peace out, and goodnight!
Time finished: 01:09
Listening to: "Battery In Your Leg" - Blur
Mood: Glad and exhausted
Listening to: "Eli, The Barrow Boy" - The Decemberists
Weather: Unfavourable to my poor, weakling fingers that are currently numbed from the cold
Mood: Bored
It is now exam season of semester one and I am approaching my very final exam of the semester which will be my classical performance for piano on 1st July. Am I ready for it? Not quite...my left hand has a lot of insecurities and misbehaves. My right hand is bold, arrogant and moves like a truck. Perhaps I am not showing them enough tender loving care. Lucinda tells me that I should have an intimate relationship with the piano. Intimate, huh? Well it seems like we're having a lot of disagreements with each other...
Anyway...before I get carried away with my difficult love affair with a musical instrument, I'll make a short summary on term two (or at least try to make it short).
First of all, I'd like to mention that even though at times the work load has been intense (ie. Music History's final essay, stressing over sight reading and transposition for Keyboard Musicianship, assignments for Music Theory etc, etc, etc...), I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, learning everything about music! I'm doing reasonably well and I feel like I've found my grounds. Once again, I have to say switching from Biomedical Science to Music was by far the BEST decision I've made in my life! I just feel like I belong to what I am doing now. I've never been happier about where I am in life than now.
With my more positive outlook in my studies, I've found that I also have a more positive personality at home too. I'm not depressing around my house mates anymore, seeking comfort in them like I did in the past. I concentrate better in class, and with my surroundings elsewhere. I think clearer, I'm happier, filled with more energy and overall, life is just so much better.
The fundamental cause of this is making friends which I've struggled and tried to do since I moved to Adelaide. First of all I'd like to make a testimonial to Pey Shin: fun, genuinely caring, supportive, loyal, spontaneous, and even with her don't-take-life-too seriously attitude and energetic nature, still sophisticated and wise at the same time. I look forward to going to uni just to talk to this girl and hearing what she has to say about anything. I feel like I can learn a lot from this girl in terms of life experiences and outlooks in life as well. Her genuine kindness also makes me love her more and more as I get to know her too. I can just feel that we'll share a lot of good moments to come in the coming years. Even though I only got to know her in such a short time, I already feel like I can trust her completely and hopefully I can show her my loyalties to her too in return to what she's given me.
Secondly, a testimonial to Sam: What can I say...oddball (!!!!!), at times - psychotic, intellectual, energetic, funny, enthusiastic, friendly, always smiling and easy going (as well as easily distracted =P). He is like the icing of the cake that makes dull cakes awesome and gives them their zest (yes, I'm terribly with my clichés...lay off, will ya?)! I'm glad I've had the opportunity to study music theory with him because I've learned we share a lot of common interests, especially with music (and none of my friends share my taste in music! Waaah!), and he's a lot of fun to talk to and be around. I feel like I can have enjoyable conversations with him that have no means of an end when a lot of other people would find talking to me completely and utterly boring. His dedication and enthusiasm astounds me too. I've told him this many times already but I'm so proud of him.
Pey Shin and Sam are pretty much the two new friends I've made that helped me get through the last moments of Semester 1, especially when we practised for our Chauralation exam and our Introduction to Analysis and Theory of Music exam. We had intense rehearsal and study sessions which consisted of us going to uni almost every day for several hours, getting together and helping each other learn and improve. We tired ourselves out physically and mentally yet we supported each other all the way through and there were hilarious moments here and there that made it oh so fun! Even though I am REALLY glad the Music Theory exam is over (and I think I did brilliantly in it, by the way), I miss our study sessions which I know we won't have for another few months at least! Boohoo :(.
Speaking of Chauralation rehearsals, I can't fail to mention Feishi (who we affectionately call Fei =P, maybe I should call Pey Shin/Josephine 'Pey' or 'Joseph'...hehe...OHNOES...TANGENT!): I don't know her TOO well yet but from the short time we've spent together I've learned that she is very sweet, encouraging, dedicated, and she surprisingly tolerated my bossiness (well, I felt like I was being bossy anyway) during the rehearsals (I'm so sorry, Fei!). She was always bubbly, friendly, yet reserved in our rehearsal which I think is really cute. Hopefully I will become better acquainted with her next semester!
I also must mention Johanna whom I also haven't gotten to know too well yet but am getting there. She has expressed a lot of kindness and concern for me during times when I was sick, or stressed from studies. She's quite funny, mature, and really friendly with everyone around her. I cannot forget her giving up her studying time, coming out night shopping with me (Pey Shin too). We spent a good two hours at least looking for my black pants which I needed for our Chauralation concert, even though she didn't need to buy anything that night. She also kindly helped me out with Music Theory by giving me her mp3's for our Repertoire Listening Project. What a life saver!
There are also a lot of other people that I would like to mention here too but I have still yet to know them better but I am keen to for the next semester. In the mean time, I am really happy that I have made awesome friends this semester and I would like to express my gratitude and love for them being awesome for who they are :). I feel so blessed to have met so many kind people throughout my life, especially here in Adelaide where I'm away from home, mum, a lot of my old friends. And how can I forget my old friends? They are all so important to me, and they know who they are so I don't need to mention their names. It's only just over a week 'til I get to see them again back in Darwin, and for those who aren't in Darwin...I will see them some day again :).
Okay...now to events (yeah...I think I epically failed on keeping this short!). Early in June I had my Keyboard Musicianship Exam. I did alright but I didn't do as well as I would've liked. Sight reading really let me down. I am tragic at sight reading. I wouldn't be surprised if I got zero marks for it. I also did horribly in clarinet transposition too (which is practically sight reading). At least I did perfectly/almost perfectly at my other prepared topics so that made up for the ghastliness. We also had a Chauralation concert which overall was pretty good. I witnessed some very awesome choirs and I had fun singing in it too. It wasn't so much fun going home alone late at night though...
I can't remember the chronological order but I also did an Aural test (which I aced), an assignment for Theory (89% Woo!), Music History essay about Enlightenment and the Sonata Form (which took me forever!!!!!!), Chauralation exam (individually I did pretty good, but our group performances weren't quite so because of the sound of the keyboard playing while we sang...oh the horror!), and finally, the Music Theory exam we did on Monday. Pey Shin, Sam and I studied so hard for it and I think I did good, Sam reckon he passed (yay!) but Pey Shin was disappointed for not finishing one question, but I'm sure she did excellently overall anyway!
Today (well...yesterday according to the clock) I caught up with Adam whom I haven't seen for a several weeks and we went to Glenelg for lunch. It was good to see him again and we had a depressing reminiscence of the 90's which wasn't so good but what the heck...the day was still awesome! It was good to get out of studying and just going out and taking some time off while catching up with a friend!
Now I have nothing to do but practise 6 hours a day on the piano for my piano exam which I am EXTREMELY nervous about...I really want to do well but I feel like I haven't gotten up to the standard I want to be at yet.
I hope everyone else who has/had exams is doing/did fine with their studying. For those who still have exams, good luck!
Time for me to shut up and make my exit! Min has left the building! Peace out, and goodnight!
Time finished: 01:09
Listening to: "Battery In Your Leg" - Blur
Mood: Glad and exhausted
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Ryan's 21st and the return of anaemia
Time started: 18:53
Listening to: "Grab Thy Hand" - Chevelle
Weather: Cold
Mood: Disorient
I have been a little slack with updating this blog due to procrastination and a hectic time during university. I will use that excuse for now.
Anyway, we woke up early in the morning to prepare ourselves to go to the footy match at AAMI stadium. I regretted not getting any Crows merchandise to show our support for the team but I guess our plain selves just had to do.
The five of us squished into Jarrad's not so spacious Terrios and drove to the venue, a little unsure of the direction to go but we got there on time nonetheless.
There wasn't a huge turn out at the match but it being my first ever attendance of a sporting event, I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere of watching two national teams play the great AFL. The weather was beautiful that day too so we were very lucky.
I think Ryan enjoyed watching the footy despite the game being a white wash for the Adelaide Crows. I was having a lot of fun myself. There were a few epic moments in the game such as a Melbourne Demon's player being ninja-ed from behind and consequently gave away a goal to the Crows.
After the game we went straight home and it was time for Ryan to open his presents. I first presented my (well...our...but it's really mine! :D) present (which was heavy to carry from my room to his) and he was quite surprised with the size of the present. He opened it carefully, revealing the velvet case, still not knowing what it was. When he opened the case I think he was quite bewildered with the sight of the large, marble chess set. There was a long moment of silence with a stunned expression, followed by a "sweet" escaped his lips. I was glad to see that he loved his present. Later he opened Jordan's birthday present and I could see a lot of affection and love expressed on his face the moment he opened it and realised what it was. Jordan bought him the entire collection of Calvin & Hobbes, Ryan's favourite comic. I think Ryan felt very loved and spoiled that night.
Anyway, that was a brief overview of Ryan's birthday, now for serious matters. For the past week I have been dizzy, fainting, and extremely lethargic. On Monday morning I went to uni with Ryan, only finding myself stumbling and trying hard to stay conscious on my way to uni from the train station. Ryan helped me stumble my way to Lucinda's class so that I could notify to her that I was unwell. Then he took me to the university's doctor so that I could make an appointment to see him. Consequently he was late for class. I felt really bad but thankful that he was by my side when I was unwell. Well I made an appointment with the doctor for tomorrow morning and hopefully he will be able to help me. I have been missing out on uni all week and can't stop feeling really dizzy and sleepy. It's really stopping me from doing my work.
Well that is all. I don't have the energy to ramble on like I usually do...
Time finished: 17:30
Listening to: "Opaline" - Dishwalla
Mood: Disorient
Listening to: "Grab Thy Hand" - Chevelle
Weather: Cold
Mood: Disorient
I have been a little slack with updating this blog due to procrastination and a hectic time during university. I will use that excuse for now.
Anyway, we woke up early in the morning to prepare ourselves to go to the footy match at AAMI stadium. I regretted not getting any Crows merchandise to show our support for the team but I guess our plain selves just had to do.
The five of us squished into Jarrad's not so spacious Terrios and drove to the venue, a little unsure of the direction to go but we got there on time nonetheless.
There wasn't a huge turn out at the match but it being my first ever attendance of a sporting event, I enjoyed the surreal atmosphere of watching two national teams play the great AFL. The weather was beautiful that day too so we were very lucky.
I think Ryan enjoyed watching the footy despite the game being a white wash for the Adelaide Crows. I was having a lot of fun myself. There were a few epic moments in the game such as a Melbourne Demon's player being ninja-ed from behind and consequently gave away a goal to the Crows.
After the game we went straight home and it was time for Ryan to open his presents. I first presented my (well...our...but it's really mine! :D) present (which was heavy to carry from my room to his) and he was quite surprised with the size of the present. He opened it carefully, revealing the velvet case, still not knowing what it was. When he opened the case I think he was quite bewildered with the sight of the large, marble chess set. There was a long moment of silence with a stunned expression, followed by a "sweet" escaped his lips. I was glad to see that he loved his present. Later he opened Jordan's birthday present and I could see a lot of affection and love expressed on his face the moment he opened it and realised what it was. Jordan bought him the entire collection of Calvin & Hobbes, Ryan's favourite comic. I think Ryan felt very loved and spoiled that night.
Anyway, that was a brief overview of Ryan's birthday, now for serious matters. For the past week I have been dizzy, fainting, and extremely lethargic. On Monday morning I went to uni with Ryan, only finding myself stumbling and trying hard to stay conscious on my way to uni from the train station. Ryan helped me stumble my way to Lucinda's class so that I could notify to her that I was unwell. Then he took me to the university's doctor so that I could make an appointment to see him. Consequently he was late for class. I felt really bad but thankful that he was by my side when I was unwell. Well I made an appointment with the doctor for tomorrow morning and hopefully he will be able to help me. I have been missing out on uni all week and can't stop feeling really dizzy and sleepy. It's really stopping me from doing my work.
Well that is all. I don't have the energy to ramble on like I usually do...
Time finished: 17:30
Listening to: "Opaline" - Dishwalla
Mood: Disorient
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Birthdays, Crap Days and a Broken Umbrella
Time started: 09:51
Weather: Freezing, wet, and windy
Listening to: The trees being blown around and rained upon
Mood: Neutral
Due to a hectic two weeks at university I have been a little slack in updating my blog. Now that it's a Saturday morning and I just so happen to be awake before midday, I have decided now is the right time to update.
Adrian's 21st birthday party was on the Saturday, 3rd of May. It consisted of me going on public transport for 2 hours to get to his place since I was staying over. He lived well at the other side of Adelaide. We went to a nice salad bar restaurant with a few of his high school friends. His set of friends are interesting but I took a liking to Carmen who was very sweet, mature, and a joy to talk to. I must admit a lot of his other friends were the kind of people I would avoid hanging out with (sex and drunken addicts). I had a chicken parmigiana and it was quite a big serving. Then we indulged ourselves with chocolate and rum cake from the cheesecake shop and it was great! Nobody got Adrian presents except for Carmen and I. Carmen got him a brilliant digital photo frame keyring which he absolutely adores and I got him another keyring that has his name engraved on it.
After dinner, Adrian insisted on me playing on the restaurant's grand piano. I first played Rachmaninoff's infamous Prelude in C sharp minor and that was a huge flop due to nerves. Everyone in the restaurant was watching me and I WAS INTIMIDATED! Then I just played Debussy's Clair de Lune which was much more relaxed.
Adrian's interesting friends then forced us to go to the sex shop across the road. I wasn't all too enthusiastic about that and neither was Adrian. Oh well...it can't really hurt. I just sat on a chair, not looking at stuff around the shop waiting for everyone to finish. Anyway, we all just went home after this because everyone was tired and no-one wanted to go clubbing (thank goodness for me!).
Adrian and I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix until 3am then went to bed.
The next morning I was awoken by a pleasant sound of Adrian's budgerigar, Pisha chirping. We awoke to have muesli for breakfast and I was amused to watch Pisha hop along on the table and eat off Adrian's bowl.
After the lovely breakfast, Adrian walked me to the bus stop that would take me home. Overall, I had a good time at Adrian's party and I'm glad he had a good time too :).
On Tuesday, 6th May, Colin left the house and I must say the mood dramatically changed after he left. No-one was out of their rooms to have fun and make noise. It was all rather grim and it made me thought how much of a difference one person can make to set the mood in the house. We all miss you, Colin!
On Thursday, 8th May, Ryan's mother arrived in the afternoon to visit for the weekend. It was a pleasure to meet her and she made us really nice roast dinners and a delicious butter vanilla spongecake especially for Ryan as an early birthday cake. She also cleaned around the house quite thoroughly as well which made me feel quite guilty. Glenda was lovely to talk to as well and it made me wonder why Ryan was so nasty with a lovely mother like her =P. Haha, I'm just kidding. Ryan can be lovely too...sometimes...
On Friday evening, the next day, Jasper and I set off to various shops in Marion and in town to quest for Ryan's 21st birthday present. It took us 7 hours to find it and I am very pleased that I got it for him. I will not reveal this remarkable present of his until he opens it so all will be revealed later!
On Sunday, Glenda had to fly back to Brisbane and I was quite sad to say goodbye to her, even though she only stayed for a very short time.
Monday 12th May, HAPPY SWEET 16TH, ELLEN!!!
Tuesday, 13th. It was my 20th birthday. It was all very fortunate for me that Tuesday was my day off uni for the week and it just so happened to be that my birthday this year is on Tuesday. Overall I had a bit of a lousy day but it wasn't all too bad. I woke up and made myself pancakes for breakfast and throughout the day I was sent many text messages and received a few calls from a lot of my friends to wish me a happy birthday. I felt quite loved :). I stayed in my room practically all day doing my essay (somewhat mentally tiring) and a bit of vacuuming around the house. In the late afternoon, Jarrad and Ellen came home from staying over at their aunt's house and I was very happy to see Ellen. It's been over a year since I saw her. She came home with bags and bags full of anime. I gave her my birthday present to her. It was Love Hina and to my disappointment, she went and bought it the day before. *Sigh* I am going to have to give her another present.
In the evening, everyone in the house went to Salisbury Hoyts cinemas to watch Iron Man. This was probably the highlight of the day. The movie was brilliant! It was cool, funny, and yeah...I'd highly recommend this movie :).
By the time the movie finished I wanted to go out to dinner with everyone but Jarrad and Jasper disregarded this idea and we all just went home. I was quite disappointed considering I didn't have lunch or dinner and I was terribly hungry, not to mention it was my birthday and I just wanted us to go out for dinner together. When we got home I did the dishes too and made myself some instant noodles for dinner. *Sigh*...Ahh well...you win some, you lose some. So I had a bad day on my birthday, it's not a big deal...my birthday is just another day, the same as any other day.
Wednesday, 14th May, HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, KYLIE!!!
Friday, 16th May, I had a pretty lousy day today as well. I went to the city in the morning to meet up wit Adam and we had brunch at Maccas (we both had Caesar salads which tasted soooo gooooooood!). It was nice to catch up with Adam again :). Then we made our way to the blood bank which was the whole purpose of us meeting. This is my second attempt to donate since Rebecca's visit (and what would've been my 6th donation). Unfortunately I was rejected from the blood services again. My haemoglobin dropped significantly in the last 3 months and my heart rate experienced severe palpitation which caused a great concern to the nurses at the blood bank. They warned me that the worst case scenario could be a terminal illness, have a heart attack, or a stroke and that I should go see a doctor. They wrote me a letter for the doctor to give me some free medical check ups and I am really hoping it isn't anything serious. I was hugely upset with not being able to donate and also having a possibility of having a serious health risk hanging over my head. The weather was extremely windy, rainy, and gloomy and I must say it suited my mood quite well. After the disappointing visit to the blood bank I made my way to uni where I met up with Pey Shin. We were supposed to be studying together for our major music essays but instead I tried to make an appointment with the university's doctor. Unfortunately I couldn't get a hold of him and left him a message. He hasn't called me back to make an appointment yet. On my way out my umbrella broke completely from the strong winds. WAH! NO UMBRELLA IN THIS HORRIBLE WINDY, RAINY WEATHER!
Pey Shin and I then had lunch together (McDonald's again, haha...this time it was a fish-o-fillet meal). We probably had a nice conversation with each other for a solid hour and a half. It was great getting to know her a bit more and I can feel a blossoming friendship happening. I hope so anyway, I like Pey Shin :). She's awesome! We talked to each other about our high school days, what we want to learn in life and yeah, just our general outlooks in life. I've learned that Pey Shin is a very strong person having been through a lot of different experiences in life and never lets anything get her down. I admired her and have a lot to learn from her. I also learned that she is genuinely caring and holds friendships close to her heart. It was lovely discovering this about her. I hope that I've left a good impression on her these last couple of weeks too. I think she thinks I'm a miserable nerd who takes things way too seriously...haha xD.
Anyway, we soon decided it was time to go home and when we left the eatery, the weather was even MORE miserable. Pey Shin offered me her umbrella but I decided not to take it.
When I walked a very long walk home from the train station, I was drenched to the bone by the rain. My hands became stiff from the wet and cold, and while I was walking, I just kept thinking about what was wrong with me health wise. Why did my umbrella have to break today?
When I arrived home, I found that Ryan's father arrived. He was down to visit for Ryan's 21st. Ryan then showed me that we both received a parcel so we went together to pick it up. To my delight, mine was a parcel from Erin. It was my late birthday present and card. She got me two gorgeous wooden cats with detachable heads on a stick (wow, that sounds somewhat morbid...). It looks really cute and I put it on top of my piano. It was rather sweet of her to get me a cute gift. Her card showed me a lot of "luff" too. <3 I also received a birthday card from Jordan that contained a bunny rabbit at the front offering a hug. It was such a cute card. Jordan is so thoughtful <3. Erin and Jordan made my day! Anyway, today is Erin's 20th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIN! Also, we're having a little BBQ dinner for Ryan tonight and maybe some of his friends would come over to visit too. Tomorrow is Ryan's big 21st birthday and I can't wait to see his present. I'm also excited about going to the footy match of Crows vs Demons. I will update on this soon :D.
Time finished: 11:02
Weather: Suddenly sunny and calm...
Listening to: Ryan's dad mowing the lawn
Mood: Content
Weather: Freezing, wet, and windy
Listening to: The trees being blown around and rained upon
Mood: Neutral
Due to a hectic two weeks at university I have been a little slack in updating my blog. Now that it's a Saturday morning and I just so happen to be awake before midday, I have decided now is the right time to update.
Adrian's 21st birthday party was on the Saturday, 3rd of May. It consisted of me going on public transport for 2 hours to get to his place since I was staying over. He lived well at the other side of Adelaide. We went to a nice salad bar restaurant with a few of his high school friends. His set of friends are interesting but I took a liking to Carmen who was very sweet, mature, and a joy to talk to. I must admit a lot of his other friends were the kind of people I would avoid hanging out with (sex and drunken addicts). I had a chicken parmigiana and it was quite a big serving. Then we indulged ourselves with chocolate and rum cake from the cheesecake shop and it was great! Nobody got Adrian presents except for Carmen and I. Carmen got him a brilliant digital photo frame keyring which he absolutely adores and I got him another keyring that has his name engraved on it.
After dinner, Adrian insisted on me playing on the restaurant's grand piano. I first played Rachmaninoff's infamous Prelude in C sharp minor and that was a huge flop due to nerves. Everyone in the restaurant was watching me and I WAS INTIMIDATED! Then I just played Debussy's Clair de Lune which was much more relaxed.
Adrian's interesting friends then forced us to go to the sex shop across the road. I wasn't all too enthusiastic about that and neither was Adrian. Oh well...it can't really hurt. I just sat on a chair, not looking at stuff around the shop waiting for everyone to finish. Anyway, we all just went home after this because everyone was tired and no-one wanted to go clubbing (thank goodness for me!).
Adrian and I watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix until 3am then went to bed.
The next morning I was awoken by a pleasant sound of Adrian's budgerigar, Pisha chirping. We awoke to have muesli for breakfast and I was amused to watch Pisha hop along on the table and eat off Adrian's bowl.
After the lovely breakfast, Adrian walked me to the bus stop that would take me home. Overall, I had a good time at Adrian's party and I'm glad he had a good time too :).
On Tuesday, 6th May, Colin left the house and I must say the mood dramatically changed after he left. No-one was out of their rooms to have fun and make noise. It was all rather grim and it made me thought how much of a difference one person can make to set the mood in the house. We all miss you, Colin!
On Thursday, 8th May, Ryan's mother arrived in the afternoon to visit for the weekend. It was a pleasure to meet her and she made us really nice roast dinners and a delicious butter vanilla spongecake especially for Ryan as an early birthday cake. She also cleaned around the house quite thoroughly as well which made me feel quite guilty. Glenda was lovely to talk to as well and it made me wonder why Ryan was so nasty with a lovely mother like her =P. Haha, I'm just kidding. Ryan can be lovely too...sometimes...
On Friday evening, the next day, Jasper and I set off to various shops in Marion and in town to quest for Ryan's 21st birthday present. It took us 7 hours to find it and I am very pleased that I got it for him. I will not reveal this remarkable present of his until he opens it so all will be revealed later!
On Sunday, Glenda had to fly back to Brisbane and I was quite sad to say goodbye to her, even though she only stayed for a very short time.
Monday 12th May, HAPPY SWEET 16TH, ELLEN!!!
Tuesday, 13th. It was my 20th birthday. It was all very fortunate for me that Tuesday was my day off uni for the week and it just so happened to be that my birthday this year is on Tuesday. Overall I had a bit of a lousy day but it wasn't all too bad. I woke up and made myself pancakes for breakfast and throughout the day I was sent many text messages and received a few calls from a lot of my friends to wish me a happy birthday. I felt quite loved :). I stayed in my room practically all day doing my essay (somewhat mentally tiring) and a bit of vacuuming around the house. In the late afternoon, Jarrad and Ellen came home from staying over at their aunt's house and I was very happy to see Ellen. It's been over a year since I saw her. She came home with bags and bags full of anime. I gave her my birthday present to her. It was Love Hina and to my disappointment, she went and bought it the day before. *Sigh* I am going to have to give her another present.
In the evening, everyone in the house went to Salisbury Hoyts cinemas to watch Iron Man. This was probably the highlight of the day. The movie was brilliant! It was cool, funny, and yeah...I'd highly recommend this movie :).
By the time the movie finished I wanted to go out to dinner with everyone but Jarrad and Jasper disregarded this idea and we all just went home. I was quite disappointed considering I didn't have lunch or dinner and I was terribly hungry, not to mention it was my birthday and I just wanted us to go out for dinner together. When we got home I did the dishes too and made myself some instant noodles for dinner. *Sigh*...Ahh well...you win some, you lose some. So I had a bad day on my birthday, it's not a big deal...my birthday is just another day, the same as any other day.
Wednesday, 14th May, HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, KYLIE!!!
Friday, 16th May, I had a pretty lousy day today as well. I went to the city in the morning to meet up wit Adam and we had brunch at Maccas (we both had Caesar salads which tasted soooo gooooooood!). It was nice to catch up with Adam again :). Then we made our way to the blood bank which was the whole purpose of us meeting. This is my second attempt to donate since Rebecca's visit (and what would've been my 6th donation). Unfortunately I was rejected from the blood services again. My haemoglobin dropped significantly in the last 3 months and my heart rate experienced severe palpitation which caused a great concern to the nurses at the blood bank. They warned me that the worst case scenario could be a terminal illness, have a heart attack, or a stroke and that I should go see a doctor. They wrote me a letter for the doctor to give me some free medical check ups and I am really hoping it isn't anything serious. I was hugely upset with not being able to donate and also having a possibility of having a serious health risk hanging over my head. The weather was extremely windy, rainy, and gloomy and I must say it suited my mood quite well. After the disappointing visit to the blood bank I made my way to uni where I met up with Pey Shin. We were supposed to be studying together for our major music essays but instead I tried to make an appointment with the university's doctor. Unfortunately I couldn't get a hold of him and left him a message. He hasn't called me back to make an appointment yet. On my way out my umbrella broke completely from the strong winds. WAH! NO UMBRELLA IN THIS HORRIBLE WINDY, RAINY WEATHER!
Pey Shin and I then had lunch together (McDonald's again, haha...this time it was a fish-o-fillet meal). We probably had a nice conversation with each other for a solid hour and a half. It was great getting to know her a bit more and I can feel a blossoming friendship happening. I hope so anyway, I like Pey Shin :). She's awesome! We talked to each other about our high school days, what we want to learn in life and yeah, just our general outlooks in life. I've learned that Pey Shin is a very strong person having been through a lot of different experiences in life and never lets anything get her down. I admired her and have a lot to learn from her. I also learned that she is genuinely caring and holds friendships close to her heart. It was lovely discovering this about her. I hope that I've left a good impression on her these last couple of weeks too. I think she thinks I'm a miserable nerd who takes things way too seriously...haha xD.
Anyway, we soon decided it was time to go home and when we left the eatery, the weather was even MORE miserable. Pey Shin offered me her umbrella but I decided not to take it.
When I walked a very long walk home from the train station, I was drenched to the bone by the rain. My hands became stiff from the wet and cold, and while I was walking, I just kept thinking about what was wrong with me health wise. Why did my umbrella have to break today?
When I arrived home, I found that Ryan's father arrived. He was down to visit for Ryan's 21st. Ryan then showed me that we both received a parcel so we went together to pick it up. To my delight, mine was a parcel from Erin. It was my late birthday present and card. She got me two gorgeous wooden cats with detachable heads on a stick (wow, that sounds somewhat morbid...). It looks really cute and I put it on top of my piano. It was rather sweet of her to get me a cute gift. Her card showed me a lot of "luff" too. <3 I also received a birthday card from Jordan that contained a bunny rabbit at the front offering a hug. It was such a cute card. Jordan is so thoughtful <3. Erin and Jordan made my day! Anyway, today is Erin's 20th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIN! Also, we're having a little BBQ dinner for Ryan tonight and maybe some of his friends would come over to visit too. Tomorrow is Ryan's big 21st birthday and I can't wait to see his present. I'm also excited about going to the footy match of Crows vs Demons. I will update on this soon :D.
Time finished: 11:02
Weather: Suddenly sunny and calm...
Listening to: Ryan's dad mowing the lawn
Mood: Content
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Catchin' up!
Time started: 02:35
Listening to: "Leif Erikson" - Interpol
Weather: Cold
Mood: A little overwhelmed
Today (or rather, yesterday) has all been about catching up. In the morning I was awoken by the sound of the beeping and the vibrations of my mobile phone, screaming to me that I have been sent a text message. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the message was from Lee-Ann, a girl I did Human Physiology with last year. She was one of the very first people I've been acquainted with since I came to Adelaide and has made me feel very welcome here. Her text message was to arrange for us to meet up and have lunch. I agreed and it was on like Donkey Kong, excited to see a familiar face I haven't seen for a while.
On my way to uni, I took many snapshots of my surroundings as I walked through the Road of Honour, one of the scenic routes to uni from the train station. The new camera in my hands, allowing me to take pictures of phenomenal picture quality gave me a buzz. I haven't taken photos of my surroundings just for the sake of taking photos for so long, and my deviantArt gallery has been somewhat neglected for several months because of this. Taking photos has made me feel alive again.
I arrived at the meeting place at the time arranged. I sat by the tables and chairs outside the Unibooks store and just sat there, feeling content, and watching the students walk by as I fiddled with my camera, looking at the world through the lenses. Despite being a little wet, it was a beautiful day. Being autumn, the leaves were bursting in colour, the air was cold and crisp and birds were flocking together all around. I sat there and snapped away at the uni grounds, waiting for Lee-Ann. She arrived at the sight of my face being hidden behind my camera. For a moment she completely missed me. I guess she has never seen this side of me before, seeing as I was only a Biomedical Science student for six weeks to her last year. We decided to dine at "The Café" at the Medical School. Lee-Ann knew nothing about this cafe, and thanks to Adrian who showed me this café a couple of weeks ago, I was able to give her the luxury of discovering this wonderful little café. We both had chicken burger with chips which was nice and fresh, and as we sat there and ate we reminisced about the short six weeks I had of studying Biomedical Science at this uni and talked about ourselves and discovered more about each other. I have discovered that Lee-Ann is genuinely compassionate, friendly and caring. It was a nice feeling knowing someone like her. I remembered when I went through the crisis of dropping out of the course last year and going through depression once more, although Lee-Ann hardly knew me, she still gave me her support. She rang me up to see if I was okay and offered her help. To me, that is a truly amazing quality in a person, being able to open up and lend your hands to a new person so willingly. It was unfortunate that we lost contact for several months after I left and went home to Darwin again. I had a tough time making friends in Adelaide and Lee-Ann certainly offered her friendship. I am glad that I was able to form contacts with her again and have had lunch with her today.
The short hour soon flew by and it was time for her to go back to class. As we said our goodbyes I felt like I've accomplished something good for myself. I gained a bit more confidence in opening up to people that I have found so incredibly difficult to do in the past year.
After the meeting with Lee-Ann, I walked myself to the River Torrens, just off the grounds of the University of Adelaide. To my disappointment, the sky was still incredibly grey and cloudy but there were some openings of blue skies here and there. I snapped away at my surroundings. I took dozens of photos of the river, the trees, the birds, and buildings. I had so much fun spying on the birds from afar with my camera's impressive zoom. At that point I remembered why I love photography so much. I felt the freedom of pushing the button and capturing moments of nature's beauty. The camera is truly a wonderful thing. Although I am nowhere near a prodigy at developing photos of impressive art, I am slowly learning and discovering ways of putting in the spice of life in my photos. Slowly...
Hopefully one day I can snap photos so beautiful, many people around the world will love and enjoy them. So in this aspect of taking photos, I was catching up on my artistic hobby and my standards of which.
I must've snapped away at that one spot for over an hour, so I started heading back to the busier part of the city. I decided that I needed a decent camera bag to put my camera in. Having it hang around my neck all the time just wouldn't do. I got to look after this beautiful camera and make sure it lasts for life. I went to a camera store at Rundle Mall and found a bag big enough to fit my camera, my spare battery and memory card, the USB cord, AND my two mobile phones in. It was a good bag. It had an adjustable strap that I could put around my body and have the bag hanging at my hips for my convenience to carry around. It was great. It's silly to think that I could get good vibes from a camera bag, but I did. It gave me such good vibes, I walked out of the store smiling with my beloved new camera tucked snuggly in my new camera bag.
I soon decided I spent enough time out of the house so I took the train home. As soon as I got home, I just crashed and did some catching up on sleep. Over the holidays I have not slept well at all due to sickness so I have a big sleep debt to pay.
When I woke up from my pleasant afternoon slumber, I did a bit of catching up practise on the piano. I had difficulty accommodating time to practise over the holidays so I had to get cracking with my Bach's Prelude & Fugue no. 15. Unfortunately, I didn't learn many new bars and I still have a lot to catch up with. I am not looking forward to Lucinda's upcoming disappointment in my next lesson. I want so much to impress her but I have yet to do so.
In less than 12 hours I have to take my leave to Adrian's 21st birthday. I am stressed out to the max on what clothes to wear because according to him, the place we are dining for dinner has a very strict dress code. Being a poor, unfashionable university girl, I have no nice clothes to wear. One must leave home early and go shopping before attending the event. Gosh, I hate clothes shopping. I never know what to look for, neither do I do nice clothes any justice when I wear them. I don't think I make any piece of clothing look good with my odd and plump features. Oh well. It probably won't help with me staying up and giving myself big black, sleepy bags around my eyes when I wake up in the morning, either so I guess I'll go to bed now.
Time finished: 03:22
Listening to: "Ole Black 'n' Blue Eyes" - The Fratellis
Mood: Exhausted
Listening to: "Leif Erikson" - Interpol
Weather: Cold
Mood: A little overwhelmed
Today (or rather, yesterday) has all been about catching up. In the morning I was awoken by the sound of the beeping and the vibrations of my mobile phone, screaming to me that I have been sent a text message. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the message was from Lee-Ann, a girl I did Human Physiology with last year. She was one of the very first people I've been acquainted with since I came to Adelaide and has made me feel very welcome here. Her text message was to arrange for us to meet up and have lunch. I agreed and it was on like Donkey Kong, excited to see a familiar face I haven't seen for a while.
On my way to uni, I took many snapshots of my surroundings as I walked through the Road of Honour, one of the scenic routes to uni from the train station. The new camera in my hands, allowing me to take pictures of phenomenal picture quality gave me a buzz. I haven't taken photos of my surroundings just for the sake of taking photos for so long, and my deviantArt gallery has been somewhat neglected for several months because of this. Taking photos has made me feel alive again.
I arrived at the meeting place at the time arranged. I sat by the tables and chairs outside the Unibooks store and just sat there, feeling content, and watching the students walk by as I fiddled with my camera, looking at the world through the lenses. Despite being a little wet, it was a beautiful day. Being autumn, the leaves were bursting in colour, the air was cold and crisp and birds were flocking together all around. I sat there and snapped away at the uni grounds, waiting for Lee-Ann. She arrived at the sight of my face being hidden behind my camera. For a moment she completely missed me. I guess she has never seen this side of me before, seeing as I was only a Biomedical Science student for six weeks to her last year. We decided to dine at "The Café" at the Medical School. Lee-Ann knew nothing about this cafe, and thanks to Adrian who showed me this café a couple of weeks ago, I was able to give her the luxury of discovering this wonderful little café. We both had chicken burger with chips which was nice and fresh, and as we sat there and ate we reminisced about the short six weeks I had of studying Biomedical Science at this uni and talked about ourselves and discovered more about each other. I have discovered that Lee-Ann is genuinely compassionate, friendly and caring. It was a nice feeling knowing someone like her. I remembered when I went through the crisis of dropping out of the course last year and going through depression once more, although Lee-Ann hardly knew me, she still gave me her support. She rang me up to see if I was okay and offered her help. To me, that is a truly amazing quality in a person, being able to open up and lend your hands to a new person so willingly. It was unfortunate that we lost contact for several months after I left and went home to Darwin again. I had a tough time making friends in Adelaide and Lee-Ann certainly offered her friendship. I am glad that I was able to form contacts with her again and have had lunch with her today.
The short hour soon flew by and it was time for her to go back to class. As we said our goodbyes I felt like I've accomplished something good for myself. I gained a bit more confidence in opening up to people that I have found so incredibly difficult to do in the past year.
After the meeting with Lee-Ann, I walked myself to the River Torrens, just off the grounds of the University of Adelaide. To my disappointment, the sky was still incredibly grey and cloudy but there were some openings of blue skies here and there. I snapped away at my surroundings. I took dozens of photos of the river, the trees, the birds, and buildings. I had so much fun spying on the birds from afar with my camera's impressive zoom. At that point I remembered why I love photography so much. I felt the freedom of pushing the button and capturing moments of nature's beauty. The camera is truly a wonderful thing. Although I am nowhere near a prodigy at developing photos of impressive art, I am slowly learning and discovering ways of putting in the spice of life in my photos. Slowly...
Hopefully one day I can snap photos so beautiful, many people around the world will love and enjoy them. So in this aspect of taking photos, I was catching up on my artistic hobby and my standards of which.
I must've snapped away at that one spot for over an hour, so I started heading back to the busier part of the city. I decided that I needed a decent camera bag to put my camera in. Having it hang around my neck all the time just wouldn't do. I got to look after this beautiful camera and make sure it lasts for life. I went to a camera store at Rundle Mall and found a bag big enough to fit my camera, my spare battery and memory card, the USB cord, AND my two mobile phones in. It was a good bag. It had an adjustable strap that I could put around my body and have the bag hanging at my hips for my convenience to carry around. It was great. It's silly to think that I could get good vibes from a camera bag, but I did. It gave me such good vibes, I walked out of the store smiling with my beloved new camera tucked snuggly in my new camera bag.
I soon decided I spent enough time out of the house so I took the train home. As soon as I got home, I just crashed and did some catching up on sleep. Over the holidays I have not slept well at all due to sickness so I have a big sleep debt to pay.
When I woke up from my pleasant afternoon slumber, I did a bit of catching up practise on the piano. I had difficulty accommodating time to practise over the holidays so I had to get cracking with my Bach's Prelude & Fugue no. 15. Unfortunately, I didn't learn many new bars and I still have a lot to catch up with. I am not looking forward to Lucinda's upcoming disappointment in my next lesson. I want so much to impress her but I have yet to do so.
In less than 12 hours I have to take my leave to Adrian's 21st birthday. I am stressed out to the max on what clothes to wear because according to him, the place we are dining for dinner has a very strict dress code. Being a poor, unfashionable university girl, I have no nice clothes to wear. One must leave home early and go shopping before attending the event. Gosh, I hate clothes shopping. I never know what to look for, neither do I do nice clothes any justice when I wear them. I don't think I make any piece of clothing look good with my odd and plump features. Oh well. It probably won't help with me staying up and giving myself big black, sleepy bags around my eyes when I wake up in the morning, either so I guess I'll go to bed now.
Time finished: 03:22
Listening to: "Ole Black 'n' Blue Eyes" - The Fratellis
Mood: Exhausted
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Getting the results!
Time started: 02:12
Listening to: "Everything To Gain" - Fischerspooner
Weather: Cold and raining
Mood: Supportive
Today (well...yesterday, according to the clock) I had a good day at uni. In choir I talked to my classmate Josephine, a girl I was getting acquainted with at the end of last term. I also got to talk to another classmate I've never spoken to before, Joanna. They're both quite funny. A girl named Lucy also expressed concern during Aural class today because I didn't show up to Monday class because I was sick. It was a pleasant surprise, I thought it was very sweet of her. There are a lot of nice girls in my classes, actually. I just got to have the courage to talk to them. This guy in my history class also took notice of a dragon drawing I drew and stuck on at the front of my folder. I don't know his name but he seemed really enthusiastic about my drawing O_o;;. I was surprised that I wasn't startled or scared when he complimented me. I don't take compliments very well, especially from strangers...MALE strangers. No, I have not developed a crush because I'm new and a guy is nice to me xD. The guys in music are kinda weird, anyway. Weird, if not idiots...haha. Well, fun idiots anyway.
I think I'm slowly progressing in making friends at uni. I have yet to make any despite being here for a while already. I think it's because the uni is so big and there are just so many students and I can't help but feel intimidated by the greatly intense amount of people. I've never really had any problems with making friends before or elsewhere. In fact I've always found it quite easy, but here in Adelaide, it is very difficult for me. I noticed today that I was more familiar with my surroundings at uni and I was a little more confident in having a conversation with other people. I've made a few acquaintances, Josephine, Lucy, Joanna, Sarah, Anna, Taneka, Caitlyn, Paul, Warrick and Annabel. This makes me feel good :). I was beginning to think that I was just anti-social and snobby.
Anyway...in aural I got my test from last term back. I got 99.5%! Top of the class by 5.5%. Muahahaha! xD I'm such a show off...I'm really happy because I haven't had marks like this since 9th grade. I lost half a percent because I wrote vii6 instead of vii°6 at the Figured Bass section. Yeah...all because of a missing circle. The circle indicates a diminished chord. I didn't realise it was a diminished :(. I guess it's not as bad as me accidentally leaving it out and knowing I should have gotten 100% for the test, but in a sense that is bad too because it means that I actually didn't KNOW the answer. Hahaha. Mih, now I sound like a nerd. I should be OVER THE MOON about 99.5% which I am so yeah. Haha. I'm tired...shush.
Well right now I'm still up because I am offering my support to Jarrad and Ryan who are desperately trying to finish their essay by today which is due at 4pm. Tsk tsk...always leaving homework til the last minute (like I'm one to talk, haha). I guess I should sleep because I have class reasonably early today. It's not like I can help them much anyway. I know nothing about marketing.
My sleep patterns are so messed up...
Time finished: 02:34
Listening to: "Ballad of a Paralyzed Citizen (Medicine Remix)" - The Faint
Mood: Tired
Listening to: "Everything To Gain" - Fischerspooner
Weather: Cold and raining
Mood: Supportive
Today (well...yesterday, according to the clock) I had a good day at uni. In choir I talked to my classmate Josephine, a girl I was getting acquainted with at the end of last term. I also got to talk to another classmate I've never spoken to before, Joanna. They're both quite funny. A girl named Lucy also expressed concern during Aural class today because I didn't show up to Monday class because I was sick. It was a pleasant surprise, I thought it was very sweet of her. There are a lot of nice girls in my classes, actually. I just got to have the courage to talk to them. This guy in my history class also took notice of a dragon drawing I drew and stuck on at the front of my folder. I don't know his name but he seemed really enthusiastic about my drawing O_o;;. I was surprised that I wasn't startled or scared when he complimented me. I don't take compliments very well, especially from strangers...MALE strangers. No, I have not developed a crush because I'm new and a guy is nice to me xD. The guys in music are kinda weird, anyway. Weird, if not idiots...haha. Well, fun idiots anyway.
I think I'm slowly progressing in making friends at uni. I have yet to make any despite being here for a while already. I think it's because the uni is so big and there are just so many students and I can't help but feel intimidated by the greatly intense amount of people. I've never really had any problems with making friends before or elsewhere. In fact I've always found it quite easy, but here in Adelaide, it is very difficult for me. I noticed today that I was more familiar with my surroundings at uni and I was a little more confident in having a conversation with other people. I've made a few acquaintances, Josephine, Lucy, Joanna, Sarah, Anna, Taneka, Caitlyn, Paul, Warrick and Annabel. This makes me feel good :). I was beginning to think that I was just anti-social and snobby.
Anyway...in aural I got my test from last term back. I got 99.5%! Top of the class by 5.5%. Muahahaha! xD I'm such a show off...I'm really happy because I haven't had marks like this since 9th grade. I lost half a percent because I wrote vii6 instead of vii°6 at the Figured Bass section. Yeah...all because of a missing circle. The circle indicates a diminished chord. I didn't realise it was a diminished :(. I guess it's not as bad as me accidentally leaving it out and knowing I should have gotten 100% for the test, but in a sense that is bad too because it means that I actually didn't KNOW the answer. Hahaha. Mih, now I sound like a nerd. I should be OVER THE MOON about 99.5% which I am so yeah. Haha. I'm tired...shush.
Well right now I'm still up because I am offering my support to Jarrad and Ryan who are desperately trying to finish their essay by today which is due at 4pm. Tsk tsk...always leaving homework til the last minute (like I'm one to talk, haha). I guess I should sleep because I have class reasonably early today. It's not like I can help them much anyway. I know nothing about marketing.
My sleep patterns are so messed up...
Time finished: 02:34
Listening to: "Ballad of a Paralyzed Citizen (Medicine Remix)" - The Faint
Mood: Tired
Monday, April 28, 2008
Christmas Came Early For Me!!!
Time started: 21:40
Listening to: "Moving To New York" - The Wombats
Weather: Very cold but fine
Mood: Happy
Today's the first day of term two. I had to hand in a huge assignment today which I finished at 3am this morning and had to hand in by noon. I was very sleep deprived early in the day. Hopefully the sleep debt will pay off because I think I did well in my assignment. I'm hoping for a high distinction :D.
The timetables for the public transport in my region changed yesterday and today I could see that it has caused a lot of people (including the bus drivers) a lot of confusion. The time changes of the Gawler Train line isn't a huge issue but the route change of the bus 225 has been a pain in the arse. Me and a handful of other people tried to catch the bus home today. We got on the 224 and got off a stop that connected to what the 225 would usually connect. However there was a guy who was already at the stop swearing his head off because he was waiting for the 225 for the last 2 hours. We asked the other bus drivers who stopped at the stop and they said that the 225 should be connecting at this stop. We waited for 45 minutes and there was still no 225. Then the 222 came and the bus driver said that the 225 no longer connected at this stop so he told us to hop on and get off another stop that the 225 should connect to. We got off the stop and waited for a further 30 minutes but there was still no 225. We gave up and decided to board on the 224 and just get off the major interchanges to get on the 225. I got off at Salisbury Interchange and caught the 225 home. This 225 had the letter "M" in front of it which I've never seen before. I think I'm going to need to study this new bus route...either that or I'll never catch the bus again. I wasted an unnecessary three hours getting home today...
Anyway...about the good news. When I came home, within 10 minutes, the delivery man knocked on my door. My long anticipated new camera arrived!!!!!!!!! It felt like Christmas for me. I waited for my camera for a month! It's a pity it came after Becca's been here but it's better than it never coming at all. Speaking off Becca. I miss her. I had a great time with her being here. I was always constantly doing something with her, but now that she's gone, it seems like all I do is sleep. I vacuumed the house today which is good because it hasn't been vacuumed for two weeks. I also now have a chance to catch up on all the uni stuff I kept on putting off during the holidays. I will see Becca in September - October anyway. I am highly anticipating on this holiday :).
Well, the only photos I've taken with my camera so far are just of me and my house mates but I've been messing around with it and it is uber AWESOME!!! Tomorrow I have a day off from uni so I'll try to put some time to go outside and find some photographic opportunities and post something up on my devArt gallery for the first time in months! It's amazing how quick time flies...I can't believe it's nearly May! Far out! In two weeks it's my 20th (pronounced twenteenth, thank you very much! I would like to think of myself as still a teen!) birthday! Aw gawd...now I feel old... AW CRAP! I GOTTA FIND A 21ST BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR RYAN AND ADRIAN! Waaaaaah! T_T. Present hunting stress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >.<;; When will this madness end?!
Time finished: 21:57
Listening to: Here Comes the Anxiety
Mood: Content
Listening to: "Moving To New York" - The Wombats
Weather: Very cold but fine
Mood: Happy
Today's the first day of term two. I had to hand in a huge assignment today which I finished at 3am this morning and had to hand in by noon. I was very sleep deprived early in the day. Hopefully the sleep debt will pay off because I think I did well in my assignment. I'm hoping for a high distinction :D.
The timetables for the public transport in my region changed yesterday and today I could see that it has caused a lot of people (including the bus drivers) a lot of confusion. The time changes of the Gawler Train line isn't a huge issue but the route change of the bus 225 has been a pain in the arse. Me and a handful of other people tried to catch the bus home today. We got on the 224 and got off a stop that connected to what the 225 would usually connect. However there was a guy who was already at the stop swearing his head off because he was waiting for the 225 for the last 2 hours. We asked the other bus drivers who stopped at the stop and they said that the 225 should be connecting at this stop. We waited for 45 minutes and there was still no 225. Then the 222 came and the bus driver said that the 225 no longer connected at this stop so he told us to hop on and get off another stop that the 225 should connect to. We got off the stop and waited for a further 30 minutes but there was still no 225. We gave up and decided to board on the 224 and just get off the major interchanges to get on the 225. I got off at Salisbury Interchange and caught the 225 home. This 225 had the letter "M" in front of it which I've never seen before. I think I'm going to need to study this new bus route...either that or I'll never catch the bus again. I wasted an unnecessary three hours getting home today...
Anyway...about the good news. When I came home, within 10 minutes, the delivery man knocked on my door. My long anticipated new camera arrived!!!!!!!!! It felt like Christmas for me. I waited for my camera for a month! It's a pity it came after Becca's been here but it's better than it never coming at all. Speaking off Becca. I miss her. I had a great time with her being here. I was always constantly doing something with her, but now that she's gone, it seems like all I do is sleep. I vacuumed the house today which is good because it hasn't been vacuumed for two weeks. I also now have a chance to catch up on all the uni stuff I kept on putting off during the holidays. I will see Becca in September - October anyway. I am highly anticipating on this holiday :).
Well, the only photos I've taken with my camera so far are just of me and my house mates but I've been messing around with it and it is uber AWESOME!!! Tomorrow I have a day off from uni so I'll try to put some time to go outside and find some photographic opportunities and post something up on my devArt gallery for the first time in months! It's amazing how quick time flies...I can't believe it's nearly May! Far out! In two weeks it's my 20th (pronounced twenteenth, thank you very much! I would like to think of myself as still a teen!) birthday! Aw gawd...now I feel old... AW CRAP! I GOTTA FIND A 21ST BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR RYAN AND ADRIAN! Waaaaaah! T_T. Present hunting stress!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >.<;; When will this madness end?!
Time finished: 21:57
Listening to: Here Comes the Anxiety
Mood: Content
Sunday, April 27, 2008
A Change...
Time started: 15:26
Place: My room
Listening to: The dog barking next door
Mood: Unmotivated
There have been many changes! Some are old news but have just not been established properly for this blog.
Making the switch has been highly beneficial for me in many ways. I am enjoying this course immensely, my health has improved a lot due to an increase in happiness and a reduction to stress, and making this decision has allowed me to grow as a person having experienced such a huge decision in my life.
Moving from Darwin to Adelaide has never been easy but it is certainly a great experience. I am more independent, responsible, free, and learning a lot about myself and new skills with life with the interaction of my house mates, a new environment, and having to resolve life battles on my own. Initially I hated this move but I have grown accustomed to the lifestyle here. The weather will always be horrible but on the bright side, this makes me appreciate what I had back in Darwin and my trips back will always be wonderful.
Overall, life is turning into the better for me. I also hope as we are all growing older...everyone has a chance to find some good changes in their lives and live happily.
Time finished: 15:45
Listening to: "Mad Man" - The Hives
Mood: Lethargic
Place: My room
Listening to: The dog barking next door
Mood: Unmotivated
There have been many changes! Some are old news but have just not been established properly for this blog.
- I have decided to make a new blogspot since my old one: http://fangie.blogspot.com/ has not been update for over a year!
- I have dropped out of biomedical science and am now studying bachelor of music and majoring in classical performance.
- I have moved from Darwin to Adelaide due to studies.
Making the switch has been highly beneficial for me in many ways. I am enjoying this course immensely, my health has improved a lot due to an increase in happiness and a reduction to stress, and making this decision has allowed me to grow as a person having experienced such a huge decision in my life.
Moving from Darwin to Adelaide has never been easy but it is certainly a great experience. I am more independent, responsible, free, and learning a lot about myself and new skills with life with the interaction of my house mates, a new environment, and having to resolve life battles on my own. Initially I hated this move but I have grown accustomed to the lifestyle here. The weather will always be horrible but on the bright side, this makes me appreciate what I had back in Darwin and my trips back will always be wonderful.
Overall, life is turning into the better for me. I also hope as we are all growing older...everyone has a chance to find some good changes in their lives and live happily.
Time finished: 15:45
Listening to: "Mad Man" - The Hives
Mood: Lethargic
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